My Will is my Blade
by MasterAG
Summary: When you mix magic and battles anything can happen, this is a story about two lives brought together by battle and courage. Rated M for violence, language and suggestive themes to come. OCxIrelia
1. Speed is my power

You could smell blood in the air, there was no mistake as the mage walked past the amazing number of corpses in the now barren and putrid land that once was full of life and color. Not many men could be able withstand the sight as he continued to survey the area. On his feet now hundreds of purple corpses mixed with weapons and varied armors. Silence and death, the sensation of nothingness filled his ears as he continued to walk past the field. There's no fear in his body nor angst in his soul, he continues to walk trying to reach what's calling him. "Nothing should be left" he thinks as he slowly but steadily advances towards a faint magical source near the center of the field. "This is wrong" he says to himself as he begins to see a faint light on the horizon. Covering its identity, fog and dust permeated with a putrid stench. Ryze readies his tome and begins to focus his mind in case of need, he can hear it, he can yet still can't understand it. He puts away his spell book and looks at the creature in front of him. "A Baby?!" he yells in his mind as the anguished cries of the baby bring him back to reality. He's the faint source of magic he detected, and on top of his head, there is a strip of light, bright enough to give his position from a considerable distance. "This is just ridiculous" he yells as he picks up the baby, which isn't done crying, "Ok, you, shut up" said Ryze as he shook the baby, producing the exact opposite of his intention. "Aaaaarrrggg! I'm not cut out for this!" He yelled to the baby as he chanted a sleeping spell on him. "That should do it" he thinks just to witness the light emitted from the baby's short hair dim itself, well at least he found what I came searching for, "Of all the things I had to be in charge" he sighed as he turned around on route to his previous path. "You better be ready, in not an easy person to be around", those where his final words as he readied himself for what was about to come.

* * *

 **Somewhere on Runeterra 12 years later**

"Aaaaaa" a shout could be heard through the forest, once, then again, and again, all with the same ferocity as one could hear wood being torn with great force.

"You are missing your target!" a much older voice shouted in clear reprimand of what he expected and clearly didn't get. "We'll do ten more until they come out perfectly!" he shouted once again.

"But my hands hurt so much and I'm really tired, please, can we rest?" the young boy exclaimed as he still tried to recover his breath with his knees on the ground.

"No, you can still move and you've withstood more pain than this, now on your feet and start cutting! I want ten perfect logs!"

Anger burned in his heart, but he, at his young age had learned to comply or to trust, either way that blue man was the only one he knew, and had known, as his world from the moment he could grab a special hilt given to him, became nothing but training and battle. Slowly getting up he began to cut again, five perfect incisions on the already fallen logs were his duty he had to do it, and so he did, by the end of the ten logs, he practically dropped on all four as sweat dropped from his chin to the ground, large breaths escaping from his mouth.

"There! All done" he said, now visibly angry.

"These are not perfect! Get up and give me my ten perfect logs!" The mage commanded now with a scowl on his face.

"What! No! I won't do more! I'm tired!" the boy shouted.

"I said get up!"

"No! I'm too tired" he shouted once more only to widen his eyes at the sight that appeared before him, the mage had now a magic orb on his hand and with only a second of delay launched it against him.

Instincts kicked in as he jumped away just in time to avoid the missile but still got propelled a few feet into the air by the blast, making him roll a few times before stopping and lifting himself up.

"Dad! What are you doing!" he screamed as tears began to form in his eyes. He got nothing but another orb launched at his direction before moving again to evade the attack. "Dad please I'm sorry I'll do it just please..!" and again he got nothing more than another orb launched at him before Ryze began to move as now his attacks became more constant aiming always towards him.

Evading his attacks was proving to be increasingly more difficult as for one he evaded two more seemed to be coming for him.

It wasn't until Ryze made him jump closer to him that true terror struck his heart, for a second he could run but now was completely rooted in place by the mage's magic. He couldn't believe what was in front of him, as the person that raised and took care of him all these years held another orb at his hand watching him closely. Tears flowed freely from the boy's cheeks.

"Dad please…" he pleaded one more time as the mage stood there seemingly unfazed, for a second later he launched the orbs of energy straight at his chest.

Throughout his childhood, at his limited understanding you could say that he hadn't the best experiences. Ever since he could remember, he had to withstand constant exercise, commands, never got a chance to fully rest, never a birthday present or one of those vacations he had read on all those books Ryze had. Even so there was something that always pushed him forward and made him endure all the pain. His will to live was strong, hope that things would get better had never left his side, seeing all that which he had read about, making friends, he wanted all of that. As such he wasn't going to die here, not if he could prevent it. So when the orb was almost reaching him, and with every ounce of power his body could muster he swung his blade, slicing the orb in half and dissipating it before it could strike him.

His victory although relieving was cut short, as another orb was shot in his direction, that one was also sliced, then the next one, and so on. The amount of concentration the boy was exerting was admirable, his head hurt, his muscles were cramping and his power was beginning to diminish as the sword he held, made entirely of electricity, was ever so slightly getting shorter the more energy he expended. He didn't realize he was no longer rooted in place, he was only focused on the orbs being launched at him.

He stood there as long as he could until his hair stopped glowing and his sword could not show itself on the hilt. Now essentially defenseless and exhausted to the point of fainting, he dropped on his knees as he could only see through teary eyes the mage coming close to him.

Once he reached his position and having him at his mercy the mage quickly extended his arms and took him setting the boy on his back as he started to walk to the house.

"Listen here Dom there will be a time to sleep but I need you to focus on my voice, can you do that?"

Dom was clearly surprised by the sudden turn of events, this was the first time he could remember the mage did something more than pet his head so he just dryly agreed as he gathered his remaining energy to focus on Ryze.

"I know I haven't been the most caring person but there's nothing more important to me than your safety. I know that may sound like a lie considering what I just did but this is a dangerous world Dom, and danger is not going to stop even if you beg for it, you have to withstand pain, and exhaustion if you want to survive, so I ask you to forgive me for what I just did, I just had to make sure you could be fine on your own even at your age" Ryze took a moment before continuing as he could feel his head nod at his shoulder. "Good, now there is also another reason why I did this today, although it should serve as confirmation that your training was well worth it, we'll be leaving this forest the day after tomorrow, I've made a deal with a long-time friend of mine and we'll continue our training on a city".

At that comment, Dom couldn't help but using what energy left he had to get a big smile on his face, "Really!? Awesome!" Was all he could muster before surrendering to exhaustion at Ryze's back.

The mage only continued advancing forward as a smile crept on his face, "This is interesting" he muttered as he held the boy on his back.

* * *

 **Piltover 3 days later**

Finally after three days of traveling and getting a much needed and deserved rest Dom and Ryze were walking the path toward the entrance of the city. The ride from the forest to the entrance had been fun for Dom as he finally had the chance to see and talk with other people rather than Ryze, he was, to the surprise of the mage, not shy at all with those who he wanted to speak, and now seemed more and more excited to enter the city as he was constantly getting ahead of him, trying to make him walk faster.

"Come on dad! We are almost there!" the kid said enthusiastically.

"I'm not your dad, and just stick to my side you have to be careful" the mage growled, as with a now visibly diminishing excitement, Dom began to walk by his side, keeping his head low. "Ahhh" the mage exhaled, "Ok listen here Dom, once we reach the city I have to talk to a friend of mine, in the meantime, I'll let you walk through the city, for a few blocks, alright? I trust that you know how to defend yourself and won't hurt anyone right? Remember, don't trust any adult and don't cause any problems, got it?" Ryze ended, successfully lifting the young boy's spirit as he nodded a few times regaining his smile.

After entering the city Dom stuck with Ryze through the pathways and alleys until they reached an apartment, they left their things there and proceeded to exit the building. This was going to be their home Ryze told him, as he then excused himself to see his friend giving Dom permission to wander around for a while as long as he didn't stray off too far from there and didn't talk to strangers.

Dom didn't think it twice and began to walk through the city streets, taking in all he could see, and ignoring many of the vendors and homeless on the streets. Dom made sure to memorize the path he was taking and the general location of his new home. Throughout his training, Ryze made sure he could orient himself and navigate through different environments without losing a sense of direction, something that was proving to be really helpful right now.

After two hours of walking and checking every street he could on that time Dom decided to begin the walk back to his home, he had strayed by now somehow farther than what he had intended, and the surrounding buildings and general atmosphere there seemed to be somewhat tenser than the previous sector where his home was located.

Suddenly his train of thought was interrupted by a girl shouting to a device on his hand, which passed right beside him.

"They found me!" the girl yelled loud enough for Dom to hear and again just before she got out of reach, "I need help there are too many!" she yelled as she turned the corner.

Dom couldn't really say if he got that tense because of the girls worried screams or because right after she turned the corner a mob of what appeared to be thugs, bigger than her following closely

while shouting and screaming insults.

"Don't cause problems" Ryze's words sounded in his head, this was his first day here and there was no reason for him to cause a scene, yeah there's no reason he thought as he began running behind the angry mob.

It didn't take much to catch up to them and realize they had entered what he could see was a dead-end alley, without delay Dom climbed to the roof of one of the neighboring buildings with the help of a light pole and the building's window layout to asses the situation, Ryze's tactics, were really useful he thought all the while he climbed up.

Once on the roof Dom was surprised to say the least at what he was witnessing, he apparently didn't catch the girl's appearance well enough, she was taller than him, although she still looked young. What really struck home though was her impressive strength and agility, as she had already dispatched three thugs and uppercutted one more once Dom laid his eyes on the scene.

"Come on! I can do this all day!" the girls roared furiously, Dom could tell that she was hurt as one of her eyes was shut closed and blood dripped from her nose. Then after someone else tried to pin her down and received another facial reconstruction a thug presumably the one in charge there stepped up and began clapping.

"Impressive punch if I do say so myself, that's why you were one of the best of us" he remarked as the girl smiled.

"You mean the best" she retorted while blowing a strand of pink hair out of her vision.

At that comment, the smile on his face disappeared as rage appeared on his eyes, and wrinkles began showing in his forehead. "We could have had it all you snitch! Everything was perfect, no one will ever find out those were fake, we could have made millions! We could have bought our way out of this shit hole! What were a couple of sacrifices for the cause Vi? Did they ever helped you with something, I sure think that the hospital couldn't do something for your family, then why help them? Why rat us with the police! We trusted you! Now the boss will cut my head!" the guy ended in a shaking rage.

"Yeah well, I'm not a murderer, those kids didn't do anything wrong, as for your head, I think it would be an improvement considering how ugly your face is." the girl taunted once more.

The girl was clearly outnumbered but still refused to show any signs of fear, it was amazing Dom thought that a girl and someone not much older than him, then suddenly Dom tensed a bit as the look on the girl's face changed quickly to a deep frown as suddenly the leader took out a yellow gun out of his jacket and without a delay shot it at her. A painful scream escaped the girl's mouth as two cables pierced her skin giving her a powerful shock of electricity. Although she initially resisting the power, after a couple of seconds her body collapsed to the floor as the shocks of electricity continued for just a while longer before stopping.

"You weren't prepared for that were you now?" the leader asked with a smirk as he got rid of the gun and approached the girl slowly.

"F*ck you" the girl said angry, clearly without the strength to get on her feet.

"Listen I was going to end it quickly but I'm really mad right now, so I'll take my sweet time and punch you to death kid. I mean I'm dead anyway so I'll have to enjoy my revenge while it lasts" the thug said as he and all remaining standing men began approaching the girl.

The girl was clenching her teeth in anger, she had to get up, she had to fight she had to buy time, but her muscles were not responding her head hurt, and she could now sense that emotion which for some time had learned to control; fear. Fear surging up her stomach to her heart making it beat incredibly fast, as her pupils dilated and sweat ran through her body. This was it, but she will go out as a good person, she saved those kids and that was enough, then just as the leader was cracking his knuckles and preparing his first punch a shadow crossed over them and a boy came down punching the thug on the stomach and proceeding to spin kick him on the head sending him stumbling for a couple of meters before landing at the feet of the rest of the astonished gang.

"Who the f*ck are you!" he shouted as he began to lift himself up. "Another kid!" he shouted now with the biggest scowl his face could muster. "Get him!" he shouted to his thugs as two of them approached Dom one with a pipe and one with a knife.

His fighting style was different from that of the girl, while she used her endurance and physic to her advantage to block and counter, he used his speed and reflexes to evade and strike when an opening presented itself. It was a shock to the rest of the thugs as the two first attackers got destroyed, the first one by a well-placed punch to the liver and the second one got floored by a spinning kick to the temple.

"Nice kick" The girl said as she got enough strength to lift herself of the floor with difficulty.

"Thanks" Dom said as he was still focused on the five remaining men in front of him.

"What is wrong with kids these days! You are supposed to play with dolls not learning how to fight!" he shouted once more before picking up his stun gun again, changing the cartridge and firing it again hitting Dom on his chest. "Take this you brat!" he shouted once more as he pressed the trigger sending electricity through the cables.

Silence reigned on the alley as the boy stood there seemingly unfazed by the charge, quickly ripping the cables of his body. "That's it now leave before you get injured"

It was a bold claim, and he knew it, there was no way he could fight all five of them without moving back, and that will mean leaving the girl out of his protection.

"Hahahahaha" the thug laughed as he took a step forward, "Nice job, I'll give you that but you think you can handle five of us?" he smiled as he took a knife from a holster on his back.

"Shit! I knew it, I don't want to hurt anyone but if necessary I'll have to use my sword. Ohh Ryze is going to kill me!" he thought as he got into a fighting stance ready to unleash his power.

Just then before the thugs were about to jump a loud snap was heard at the entrance of the alley and just after that one of the thugs fell to the floor unconscious. Immediately after that and as they turned around another snap roared through the air and another thug fell unconscious as a rubber bullet slammed straight at his jaw knocking him out.

Dom was again surprised to look at the figure standing in the alley, another girl no taller than him, wearing a tophat, visibly angry and holding what appeared to be a modified slingshot and various rubber bullets on his hand.

"On behalf of the police! You are under arrest, any resistance will not be tolerated, now get on your knees and put your hands in the air!" the girl shouted with determination, although her high pitch voice took out some of the seriousness.

"Another kid?!" the leader yelled clearly annoyed as a familiar scene played itself for the second time in a matter of minutes. "What are you waiting?!" he yelled at the remaining of his squad, "Get her!" he yelled once again.

Their run for her was short as three meters after they had traveled their bodies fell unconscious thanks to the precise shots taken from that more than strong slingshot.

Dom took quick notice at how now the leader of the thugs had now turned around completely ignoring him, "This is my chance" so without hesitating he got running traveled to the wall and with an enormous force kicked the man on the side of his jaw, knocking him out cold standing at the center of now a bunch of bodies on the floor.

"Nice kick" sounded again now coming from the girl with the top hat as he walked past him to aid the other girl giving her a big hug first.

"I was so worried! Are you ok Vi?" the girl in the tophat asked with clear concern.

"I'll be fine Cait, nothing a good sleep can't cure!" she said flashing a smile, "I have to say that someone else saved me today" Vi said now looking at the boy. "Err thanks for that, my pretty face would look like mashed potatoes if you didn't help me there, my name is Vi" she declared as she extended a hand towards the boy.

"No problem, I'm Dom, nice to meet you" he said as he grabbed her hand in a firm handshake.

"Hey don't let me out!" the girl whined as she also stretched her hand. "The name is Caitlyn, but since you saved my best friend you can call me Cait" she finished as her hand comparatively smaller than Vi's was waving in front of him.

Dom found it kind of amusing and funny to see such a demonstration that couldn't help but follow the same demonstration. "The name is Dominick, but since I just saved your best friend you can call me Dom" he said grinning as she shook hands with her, now all were sharing a smile on their faces.

Just then after they let go of their handshake the three of them heard a noise and quickly turned around to see the thug leader lifting himself up the ground stumbling and clearly disoriented as he pointed a finger towards the kids.

"You'll get what's coming for you! I'll come back and kill you three with my own hands, I promise" he yelled.

"Don't make promises that you can't fulfill Jack" a deep voice said at his back, only giving him a chance for terror to strike his eyes as a gunshot was fired and his head exploded in front of the three kids. "You are not a man if you can't keep your promises" he said, now more smoothly as he took another hit of his cigarette. The man was big yet not very muscular and at his side were two more guards wearing suits as they followed him without making noise "Now what do we have here? Ohh if it isn't the chief's daughter, damn so you finally made a friend?! Do you think helping the chief of police will help you in some way? Is that why you ratted us out? We gave you a home you insolent brat. We put food on your stomach and gave you a purpose. Do you think they were going to help you? That you could live happily ever after? There is no such thing as that, young lady" The man finished as he began loading his gun, getting three bullets into the chamber.

"Leave her alone!" Caitlyn shouted as Vi's eyes were full of tears "As the daughter of the chief of police I order you to surrender". After finishing her sentence she quickly shot a rubber bullet with the slingshot only to be stopped by one of the guards before reaching its target.

"I don't have much time now that a shot was heard Vi, but you know what's next, I mean I couldn't possibly run the gang if I allowed a snitch to live, you know how this goes, so I'll kill her first so you can watch her die before I put you to sleep too" he ended, then aimed quickly at Cait's head pulling the trigger.

Vi's heart sank as she heard the gunshot, and for a brief moment a flash of light blinded her. She didn't want to look, tears were flowing from her eyes as she could only imagine what happened. Then gathering all his courage turned to her right and there was Cait, completely unscratched but with a look of complete surprise on her face. She then looked up front and saw Dom, his hair and eyes were completely engulfed in white light holding what seemed to be a sword made of electricity in front of him, but more importantly, in front of Caitlyn.

"Hhhmm" two more shots were fired one after the other aimed directly at the boys head only for them to be deflected, or sliced in half there was no way of telling.

Just after the last shot Dom entered what Ryze had mentioned as a crucial state, decisions had to be made once your life was at stake and they had to be fast, in this world either you decide your fate or you let others decide it for you, and he was having none of that, so when the faint movement of the guards suggested they will take their arms he sprinted to action.

The scene that unfolded before both of the girl's eyes took their breath away as before the guards could even point their guns at him, two slashes were made, chopping off their hands, making them drop to the ground screaming before turning around and doing the same with the leader.

"AAAAAAAA" a deep scream followed by two more shot through the air as the three men agonized in pain on the ground.

Dom stood there quite shocked himself for a minute not knowing what to do next, as the girls also were quite astonished.

"Woooaaahhh" was all Vi muttered as Caitlyn was still quite shocked by her near-death experience, but reason came back to her once sirens were sounding at the entrance of the alley and a familiar voice rang through her ears.

"You! Drop your weapon and put your hands where I can see them!" the officer shouted as behind him a whole squadron began to point their guns at Dom, who at the moment was just watching as he then retracted his sword and lifted his hands.

"On your knees now!" the officer commanded again but just before Dom could move a voice raised behind him.

"Wait! Dad! He is the good guy! He saved my friend!" Caitlyn yelled gathering the attention of the chief as he quickly instructed his troops to lower their guns but clear anger shown in his face.

"Awesome! It's Caitlyn's dad, maybe I'll be able to get home before dad finds ou…." Dom was beginning to think just before a familiar mage appeared to the officer's side.

"Dominick" was the only word directed at the boy, enough to send a shiver up to his spine, letting him know this was not going to go without a proper lesson.

"You know him?" the officer asked as Ryze nodded his head still looking at the boy. "Okay everyone, you know the drill, take care of this the chief instructed his staff, as for you three, you have a long explaining to do.

So for the next hour, the kids began explaining what happened to the chief of police, how Vi had stopped a batch of fake medicine to reach the sick children of the hospital, how she told Cait so she could message the hospital in time. How the thugs came chasing Vi after they found out and Dom's entrance and help being told now quite excitingly by Vi.

"It was awesome, he really split a bullet in half! Then he shot forward so fast that the baddies had no chance to react and, slash! He sliced his hands holding the weapons!" Vi ended before the chief interjected before deciding he had enough.

"Alright, that's it for today. Young man hearing that you aided us to capture the leader of one of the worst gangs in the city and that you saved my daughter I'll let you leave unpunished, this time understand? I don't want any more problems, so you stay away from trouble and listen to your dad!"

"I'm not his dad" Ryze interjected dryly.

"Yeah sure, as you wish" he said while rolling his eyes. "As for you young lady" the chief began to talk straight to Caitlyn, which seemed to know something bad was about to happen. "Hand in your weapon" the chief commanded as he showed the palm of his hand straight to her. Cait couldn't do anything else than to comply with as sad face while his precious slingshot was confiscated. "You are grounded for two months without a possibility of parole understand?" Caitlyn winced once she heard the number but could only nod her head as she accepted her punishment. "As for you young girl, where are your parents?" the chief asked but quickly regretted as Vi's eyes fell to the ground and sadness invaded her face.

"They are not here" she said without lifting her face.

Just before the chief could continue Caitlyn ran up to him and began whispering in his ear, something no one heard but you could see the chief thinking carefully.

"Please!" Cait begged him with both hands tied together as the chief lifted himself up and took a long exhale.

"Vi is it right? Your name?" the chief asked, while Vi quite intrigued nodded in agreement. "Are you staying somewhere right now?" he asked as Vi just shook her head. "Ok then that settles it, I'm not fond of delinquents but Cait tells me you are someone to trust so I'll trust her on this one. So, hmm if you would like Cait, ah, we would like to invite you to our house".

Those words reached the pink-haired girl to her core as she could only nod in agreement while Caitlyn latched herself to her side in a big hug.

"That settles it then, well Ryze I'll see that you are given permission to use the academy's training ground once Dom here has learned his lesson". Ryze showed a sly smile at that comment and nodded in agreement at his decision. "Now Vi, I would love you to welcome you to our house in other circumstances but rules are rules so, you are also grounded" he said finishing his sentence with a wide smile as the three of them braced themselves for what was about to come.

* * *

 **Two days later**

Vi had just finished mopping the floor, laying the mop against the wall she approached the open window while cleaning the sweat off her face with a towel. "This is gruesome" she told Cait who had just finished dusting off the walls, who also thanks to the intense heat was heaving against the window hoping to catch a slight breeze.

"Nothing to do about it" one spec of dust when dad comes home and he'll add another day" she said as she slumped against the window, Vi following her example, did the same as they both looked down from their apartment across the street to the roof of a building.

"Could be worse" Vi said.

"Indeed it could" Cait answered

"What do you think he's reading?" Vi asked again as she took a sip of water.

"Dunno, maybe some kind to torture technique book, he gives me the creeps" Cait said.

"Word"

"498, 499, 500!" the boy shouted as he slumped against the ground sweat covering his whole body, and breathing heavily.

"Good you are halfway there" the mage said calmly as he turned a page from his book, sitting comfortably in a chair below the shade of an umbrella. "If you persevere maybe you'll end before the sun sets" he said as he took a sip from his drink.

This was going to be a gruesome lesson.

* * *

 **Piltover, 12 years later**

"SECURE THE PERIMETER" said the voice through the radio. "Vi don't engage just follow them" said Caitlyn with a worried tone as she overlooked the scene unfolding in the streets from above. Distress calls were heard through the city as the robbers ran as fast as they could, their plan was simple, rob a bank with bombs attached to their bodies, and threaten police to back away or they will blow up an entire block, they got nothing to lose, but desperation was growing more and more by the second, as they grew tired and heard sirens reaching closer, then to their misfortune the three realized they had ended in a dead-end alley. Their leader stood frozen, eyes wide open as he held the detonator in one hand and stepped to confront the group of police who now blocked the exit.

"Back off! You got no power over us! Either you go back or I'll blow this entire block… in…. into the sky!" said the thug with a breaking voice.

"Let's calm down alright" said the pink-haired official, "Believe me you would not like what's about to happen, but I can assure you, if you don't give up, only pain and suffering awaits you three" there wasn't a single hint of hesitation in her voice only giving more nervousness to the three thieves in front of her.

"You don't scare us!" said thief number two, as he too raised his own detonator, "We all have one, at the first gunshot we hear we would all click it, you understand!? Now, step away!" To their surprise, Vi didn't move a single inch, but a smile crept onto her face.

"UUUOOOO scary! I'll give you points for intimidation, but you see, it's not my turn to stop you, it's his, and don't forget I didn't warn you about it hurting" Said Vi as she posed with both hands upon her hips.

"Don't play with us!" Shouted one of the thieves, all of them visibly shaken by Vi's comment raised the detonators on top of their heads. "Don't you dare move!"

It all was in an instant, a bright light passed through their eyes taking away their vision for a second but they didn't hesitate as all three of them decided to press the button, only to feel an immense heat emanating from their wrist. It wasn't the finest slash to his standards but it did the job as he stood behind the now agonizing criminals with a sword, which seemed to be made of electricity. Hair dark except for that single white stripe glowing on his head the moment his powers were used. On the floor were three severed hands and their owners almost fainting from pain, a sight which perturbed him but had been common for his job.

"Yo, Dom!" he heard as he snapped out of the disgusting sight before him to find Vi and her team already apprehending and disarming the bombs from the criminals. "I see you are quick as always" said Vi in a teasing tone and a smirk on her face as she poked his ribs.

"Shut up! As if you would know" responding as quickly as he could with a face full of embarrassment.

"Ohoho, little brother, but I was talking about your reflexes you know" said Vi with a wider smile.

"Ahhh it's never easy with you is it, you know I'm not good with this!" Dom remarked feeling slightly irritated that he always had to endure Vi's innuendos right after every mission.

"Enough of your chatter, good work Dom I'll get your payment ready and also Ryze has some urgent business to discuss with you given the big day is coming, I advise you go see him as soon as possible, and don't worry Vi will fill the paperwork for you" said Caitlyn as she cut the transmission.

"Awww come on, that's not fair, we were supposed to go see the new movie!" yelled Vi at the already turned off transmitter.

"Heh, it's not so bad considering it's the only work you'll do this time" Dom replied as he started running following his usual exit routine while avoiding Vi's first aimed at his body.

"One day I'll get you coward!" he heard Vi's scream already at a distance. Now focusing on reaching his destination.

* * *

 **Dom's house**

Dom knew what was coming and of course, was expecting this to take some time, so he decided to buy some tea and freshly baked bread before arriving to his home. It wasn't so big, two bedrooms, a kitchen a single complete bathroom and a study room which was half of the house, setting the groceries of on the kitchen table Dom stirred his nerves and entered the study.

Inside the blue mage was sitting in one of the couches of the study carefully examining a new novel that had just arrived from a recognized author across all Runeterra. His feet were crossed in front of him and he had a look of deep concentration which for a moment made him doubt for a second if it was a good moment.

"Good afternoon Dad" said Dom with a serious tone as he lowered his head in respect awaiting his response.

"I don't know if I'll ever come to terms with that title you know" said Ryze as he took a big sip of his tea lying on a table beside him.

"Did you wanted to speak to me about something important?"

"Yes it's about your trip" Ryze said his eyes still on the book, "this will be a test of your abilities".

"Come on Ryze I got it I've been training my whole life, I'm sure I'm strong enough to beat anyone don't worry" Dom said, but Ryze seemed to get angry at his words.

"This is not about proving you are the best fighter, there is much more at stake here" he growled finally taking his sight of the book and looking at him. "Dom it's time for you to know why is it that you ended up with me" he said clearly getting Dom's attention. "There's a mage, I know him well, or I used to before, he's able to see far ahead and back in time. I was instructed by him to find a source of power left after the battle of the void, to take care of it and make it stronger, but if I'm honest I never thought it would be a child" Ryze smiled a while before focusing again on his message. "Dom I've taught you everything I know, I've seen that you were able to train and grow as stronger as you could but it's time to say goodbye for now. I've got nothing else and you'll have to find yourself a way to keep improving so that's why you are going there"

Dom was clearly shocked at the moment, he found it difficult to digest but he had learned to trust Ryze and will continue to do so, still there were some questions he needed answered. "Why did this mage send you for me?" came out of his mouth as Ryze took a second to answer.

"There will be a time where you would be needed I don't know when or for what, all I can tell you is that, you need to be strong, to become strong so you and everyone else can face whatever threat falls upon this realm." Ryze took this chance to get up and approach Dom and for the first time wrapped his arm around his shoulders in a light hug, quickly separating himself. "I'm proud of you, so do me a favor, I know it would be difficult but try to have fun, think of it as your first vacation".

Dom was completely frozen in place clearly thinking about what to say but failing to find his voice. Ryze took this opportunity to say his goodbye, he had to take a trip down to a nearby city and will not be for Dom's departure. So after Ryze went out of the door and he collected his thoughts, Dom decided to let off some of his worries by going to her second favorite place in the city.

* * *

 **Heimerdinger's Lab**

"I'll guess I'll just think about it later" said as he sighed and approached the door. Nothing fazed him as he entered the building being careful not to trip with all the junk lying on the floor, tools, metal components, plans, projections. Everything arranged in a specific place not new to him as he came to love and admire this lab since he was allowed to.

"Seeing that you are not all over the place I suppose you finally finished placing those things" said Dom as a second later he intercepted a wrench flying towards his face, from a hairy creature behind a chair facing a big screen.

"Those things have a name!" Shouted the tiny yordle from the chair turning his attention to the young boy. "And they may prove useful in saving the lives of many people, have a little respect for those who are not alive now that they are working."

"Sorry about that… it was insensitive on my part" said Dom in an apologetic voice as the yordle turned around to look at at the screen. Years ago an earthquake shook Piltover destroying many buildings and killing many residents. Since then Heimerdinger decided to focus on a way to detect these events and study them to save lives by using technological advancement as his medium. At the time everyone was surprised when every city-state allowed the scientist to place sensors in their territory, a task which apparently finished and everything was set in place and working.

"Are they working?"

"Of course they are working! I'm the one who builds them!" explained even more irritated the little creature. Heimerdinger then took a deep breath and faced Dom one more time "You seem a little lost boy"

"Just a bit, Ryze told me something quite confusing before leaving" Dom jokingly said.

"I swear never have I understood that old mage, but have never denied his intellect, … or yours"

"Haha, I'll take that as a compliment, thanks, so how is my baby?" said Dom as casual as possible expecting good news.

"Do not pressure me, you know something like that requires a lot of work and materials, but if you want to see its progress you know where the garage is." Said Heimerdinger as he pointed the back door returning his attention to the screen.

Dom never bothered with the main lab's mess but he appreciated that at least his workspace was kept relatively clean. The garage was full vehicles and pieces of them but there was one in which he had been working on for the past 4 years. It looked like a box, three meters high and 2 wide, painted deep red, no wheels were attached yet but you could see they were going to be big, and the front part was still missing entirely, which at plain sight you could see a hole running inside the box as big as a cheese wheel made from all of Vi's ego. The back, on the contrary, was fully equipped with two engine thrusters fitted together, one on top of the other, both as tall as him, and black like his hair. A perfect drill some would say, a machine capable of burrowing a hole through a mountain without much problems.

"They say you don't need this and call me speed maniac, but I know you need power, and one day you'll end my suffering" He said as he patted the side of the machine with a happy smile on his face. "Well, I guess I'll distract myself for a bit" said Dom as he got to work on the machine.

It was late now as Dom arrived at his home, no light was turned on as he figured, Ryze tended to disappear from time to time so this was not something new to him. Thoughts lingered in his head while preparing his things for the trip, oh yes, the trip. He remembered Ryze's talk and figured that this was the cause of it all. How could it not? He thought as this will be the first time he will be out almost on his own. But the option was too good to be passed, he would be allowed to fight at his maximum power without worrying about hurting someone, and that one idea fueled his mind and body with excitement. If anything, riding in that thing for three days was what scared him the most, Dom has always said that he belongs in the ground, but flying was the only way to reach its destination in time, so he had to prepare himself.

################################################################################

He woke up nervous, almost to the point of throwing up but he contained himself, he knew it wasn't because his life appeared to change from one day to another and he was unsure of what was coming, but remembering his ride.

"No point in delaying this" he said quietly.

"There you are!" shouted Caitlyn as he saw the familiar face of Dom approaching the hangar where the ships were stationed. "I was beginning to worry, knowing you I was about to send my forces into your house" Caitlyn stopped for a second to examine his state, "Hmm, you look like a ghost"

"More like shit!" VI added in a laughing manner. "What's this!? Little Dom is scared of heights? What a surprise." Said Vi as she crossed one of her arms around Dom's neck without her enormous gloves. "You are not going to faint now are you little slug?" said Vi still joking and pulling one of his cheeks with his other hand.

"Maybe I'll arrive on time by horse if the weather is good" said Dom with a week smile as his gaze shifted to his feet.

"Hahahahaha" was the only response he got from his pink-haired friend as she moved him with her arm still around him. "You'll be fine! Besides you have Mr. Might coming with you, he'll take care of everything".

"Well just in case, you might want to take this" said Caitlyn as she presented him with a whole stack of disposable bags.

Dom was getting sicker by the second and that smirk in Cait's face wasn't making things better. "Thanks" was the only thing he could muster as he took the bags and hold them firmly on his side.

"You better be" she said as she exhaled deeply. "We'll catch you later if we have a chance, maybe a short vacation we'll do us good" said Cait with a smile.

Maybe it was his imagination but those words seemed to make him feel better. "Yeah I'll see you later" he spoke correcting his posture and lifting completely his face, and just as he was almost completely free of his worries he felt a sharp pain and a loud thud on his back.

"Hello there Dom! Man, nothing like going on a flight for three days don't you think! JUST IMAGINE THOSE BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES, AND YOU, HIGH ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE, DEFYING GRAVITY, CHALLENGING THE GODS WITH A PIECE CLOTH FILLED WITH GAS AND YOUR DISPOSITION FOR ADVENTURE! HE HE HE, I LOVE THIS! Hmm? Dom you alright?"

"HUUUURGGEHH"

"Ewww, good one Jayce, subtle as always" Caitlyn exclaimed as she backed away a few meters.

"I'm ok, I'm ok, I just need some air…" said Dom with week knees and a pale face as he staggered to move away from the group. "You know maybe the horse wasn't a bad... idea." *Thud* Dom suddenly collapsed on the floor a few feet away from them.

"Thank god, you gave him the bags" Vi exclaimed as she began carrying his body on top of the aircraft. "He is ready to go" shouted as she gave thumbs up to Jayce and Cait.

"Take care of him would you" Cait told Jayce in a serious manner.

"Leave it to me!" Jayce shouted as he climbed on board and positioned itself on the nose of the aircraft pointing at the horizon. "NEXT STOP, THE INSTITUTE OF WAR!" exclaimed as the ship started to sail leaving Cait and Vi standing there as the ship sailed away from their view.

(Ps)

* After the ship sailed

"I have always thought of you as the big sister you know, maybe it' time for YOU to show it" Vi said in a calm and soft voice.

"What are you talking about, obviously he likes YOU better, you got to set an example" Cait responded to the sudden comment, neither of them removing their eyes from the aircraft.

"Hmm, maybe law doesn't need to be so uptight at all moments Cupcake"

"Maybe not" said Cait agreed as she and Vi started walking away, carefully avoiding the disposable bag on the floor following their way back to their office.


	2. My body is my blade

Air moved erratically as steel danced through the air, beads of sweat dripping on the floor, her hands dancing in the air commanding blades to move at amazing angles and speed. Truly, a sight to admire as her weapon was as unusual as her style. You could hear the whistle of air wood being struck as the practice dummy, defenseless against the attack, lay completely destroyed at her feet.

"AAAHHH" she shouted as all blades stabbed destroyed the dummy until she allowed herself to fall on her knees due to exhaustion, punching the ground as if she had failed all her attacks.

"Remember to breath as you relax young warrior" interrupted the deep voice from within the trees to her surprise.

"Master Lee, for how long, have you been there?" said Irelia not lifting her eyes from the ground, but in a surprised tone, as she never noticed his presence.

"Long enough to sense something dangerous. Is this why you've been training far from camp?"

She was stunned, and kept her gaze on the ground, she thought carefully of an answer but nothing came to mind but shame for her actions. Her emotions had won the battle, looking at the area around her countless pieces of destroyed wood were a clear indication that Lee's question had been exactly right.

"You've been having them, again? Ever since that war I've seen you change" the blind monk waited a bit but sensing no response continued his interrogation. "Do you believe your actions were wrong? That you made a mistake?"

"No" she said quickly as she lifted her head. "If I hadn't done that many lives would have been lost, it was the correct decision."

"Indeed, no one could have done what you accomplished" he paused a bit sensing still unease in her as he calmly continued. "Even if it meant breaking your peace it doesn't mean you can't regain it again".

She cast her eyes at the ground again, she knew what Lee meant, ever since coming up to her position he and Karma were the only ones who seemed to fully understand her. Even so she believed burdening them with her unease and unrest will be no way of repaying them for their kindness, that's why she had decided to keep everything to herself as long as she could, so she wouldn't burden them with her problems. She had much to do and many people view her as their leader, she had no time to rest as war was now always on the horizon.

"Come on grab your weapon, maybe some real partner would be better for training" said the monk as he positioned himself in front of her opponent.

"You are never satisfied until you get everything out of me huh?" She said as she readied herself for the battle.

"Just try to keep up with me, and I will also like to chat as we duel" said lee as he readied a staff he brought with him.

"I've never seen that antique, did you buy it?" said Irelia in a teasing tone.

"Hahaha, no I just borrowed it from a monkey, had to give up a couple of bananas," said Lee hitting the ground and getting ready for the battle.

They kept still as they both looked at each other, well, just one, clenching muscles and breathing fresh oxygen to their lungs. Just as each other's breaths had inhaled to their maximum capacity, in an instant, both were already attacking one another with their weapons. Irelia always on the offensive as Lee parried her blades. One after another, for someone without sight Lee had an amazing speed and agility, also a seemingly supernatural knowing on where her blades will be. This continued for a while as Lee gathered some distance and began to talk.

"Is this all you got young general, then I could still keep using one hand at your full power" said the monk teasingly as he received the reaction he was waiting.

"Oh really" said Irelia as a wide grin spread across her face and clutched her muscles in anticipation of what was going to come. "I'll try not to beat you up so much".

At that moment, she dashed forward, blades ready and eyes full of determination. Sparks flew as she hitted, again and again, Lee's weapon, each strike faster than the other and some from directions which some may consider impossible to make.

"I guess using both hands is required sometimes" said Lee as he continued to back away blocking her relentless attacks

"Hahaha, how is this, is it a challenge keeping up with me?!" At that moment Irelia shifted her blades wider began attacking from both ends. "I can still go faster!"

Their fight was as one-sided as it could be, the monk just stood back letting her opponent attack with all she had. In a moment as he parried one of her attacks suddenly felt as his weapon was flung out of his hands by a powerful kick and a blade struck near his throat.

"Hah, ha… I… I win" said Irelia with a grin on her face.

"That you have young warrior I'm proud of your improvements" Lee replied as he moved the blade away from his throat. "Come on I brought some tea and fruit we should take some time to enjoy them." Irelia took a second to reply as she agreed sensing Lee wanted to talk to her about something.

"Tell me something Irelia, why is that you fight?" Lee said as he seeped calmly his tea.

"Huh? For protection, of course, to protect us from harm, it's my mission as a leader and general of our army"

"Yes, of course it's to protect, but protection means harm when you are holding steel, and I've known you long enough to know killing is what you despise the most" Lee said in a stern voice as he lowered his cup already empty.

"That's…" Irelia casted her glance at the floor, he knew the blind monk couldn't see her but she was sure he knew when a single change in her face presented itself.

"A cruel world indeed, a young girl given a task she despises the most but has more talent than anyone" Lee paused for a second before cracking a smile, "That is, if this young girl didn't enjoy a good opponent" Lee then leaned over sensing Irelia's attentive gaze upon his face. "You can hide many things from others, but you have never hidden that spirit when training, that excitement when knowing you can go all out without hurting someone is something you can't hide, especially against me young girl"

Irelia was speechless, no one has ever confronted her about this aspect of her life. She couldn't deny it though she knew herself, and the thrill of a good match was something she hoped when she trained.

"Maybe I do enjoy it" she said with a slight blush on her cheeks due to embarrassment. "I won't kill anyone in training"

"Indeed, you won't, and that is why those matches seem to be the only time you are happy, and that gets me sad", a frown appeared on his forehead as he exhaled some air. "You were robbed of youth, thanks to this war, training at all moments, and never taking a break."

"I've never regretted my decision of fighting for peace" Irelia said in a confident voice.

"I know, but war seems to be all your breath now, tell me when was the last time you did something you wanted, instead of training and issuing orders? Can you remember?"

Irelia quickly opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out, just a muffled sound at the back of her throat, as her eyes widened taking Lee's words and looking for an answer.

"My concern right now is only you Irelia, I can no longer sense your happiness without your blade. I don't know how to make you happy but I do know the thing that does" Lee said as he rose to his feet and handed her a letter. "I talked to the general, and you are now to take a temporal leave in order to train with better opponents, we will need you stronger if you are to lead in front"

"What? Why?" Irelia's face showed every hint of confusion possible as she tried to grasp what was happening.

"What is it that you want Irelia? What is your vision of the future?"

"To protect my home!" she shouted, "To keep everyone safe!"

"And when you are no longer required? When your presence will be more of a hindrance than a benefit, what are you going to do? What is it that makes you want to keep living beside your ideal for combat!" Lee Sin shouted as visibly anger showed on his face, a sight truly rare, as Irelia was immediately stunned both hands to her side and eyes wide open. Sensing this reaction lee calmed himself and started to spoke in her calmly manner again. "Listen Irelia, I will always be there when you need support but there are things I can't do for you, that you must figure out for yourself" He continued without a moment of hesitation. "Go to the Institute, calm your thirst of battle, train all you want, but please try talking to someone for a change, leave your blades far for once, there are other things there besides the training camp, remember that, and please try and see if you can make a friend" Lee then got a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "You are to depart tomorrow morning. I'll be there to send you off"

Never has she been more confused in her life, Lee has never lied to her and she truly believed he saw her as family for a reason. Taking deep breaths, she started to calm herself, thinking that Lee could be doing this because it was necessary made her relax. "Fine, I'll do it" she spoke in a confident tone assuring Lee she trusted him, besides she would be able to fight a lot and that even though she didn't want to admit it that was more than enough reason to accept this trip.

"Good, I'm happy to hear that" said Lee as he beckoned her to start walking to the city. "Oh, and by the way all aircrafts were full. So, I'll see you at the docks first hour in the morning, and don't forget to bring your pills remember it's a 2-day trip"

Upon hearing those words Irelia lost track of her surroundings for a moment, sweat suddenly appearing in her forehead. "Lee, I think I won't be able to… Lee? LEE! THAT'S NOT FAIR!" and with those words the blind monk had already disappeared but not without letting the young warrior hear his laugh as he vanished into the distance.

* * *

 ** _Next Morning_**

There she was, struggling, tossing and turning with only a view of the sky beginning to light up, four wooden boards on her sides and one on her back, and the sound of horses pulling the carriage, as well as two distinctive voices she recognized and once respected.

"I swear you are going to regret this!" she shouted as she finally was exhausted from trying to free herself from the ropes.

"I'm really sorry princess, but we knew that you were not going near the docks no matter what, so Lee and I took to the matter of convincing you." Karma said as she and her partner in crime laughed against the distress of the poor and concerned warrior.

"THIS IS TREASON! HELP! I'M BEING KIDNAPPED!" the young warrior screamed only to be met with more laughs. "AAAAA, why can't I call my blades?!" she asked to the air as she knew they were close.

"I have them really secured on one of my shields" Karma said in a calm voice. "Don't worry I'll free them once we are on our way to the institute, ohh I almost forgot, this time I managed to get a lot of this one's for a great price!" said Karma as she placed a bunch of really thick bags in front of the face and to the dismay of the girl inside the carriage.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

Was the last word heard apart from the audible laughs of two persons as a carriage heading to the sea disappeared between the vegetation.


	3. My will is my guidance

_**Dom's POV**_

*Knock* *Knock*

Two light touches sounded on the door as Jayce stood outside waiting or it to open.

"Morning sleeping beauty, how are you?"

"I'll be better once dirt gets under my shoes" Dom said was clearly not happy, he had waited in one of the rooms for the whole trip to end. "How much longer Jayce?"

"Relax buddy, I came with good news. We will be arriving in an hour, you best be prepared."

"Finally! Got it, I'll be ready when you call."

The aircraft descended slowly as Dom waited impatiently it's landing. The ship docked in one of the many ports situated on top of the institute of war. There, one could see why this place was referred to as a fortress, stepping on its ceiling one could not see the end of the structure, and immense towers covered every corner of it, which was made of stone.

"Whoa!, I didn't imagine it will be this huge." Dom said as the sight was holding him still with an open mouth

"Ha ha ha, well, of course it has to be huge if you were to become a mediator for all the cities in Runterra." Jayce began to say as he pushed Dom inside the castle. "You see, not too long ago this was used as a place where diplomatic decisions would happen, Ha! As if that could work. After the downfall of the agreement, the institute became a neutral place to increase one's skill in combat, for all warriors alike, so here we are, your new room will be that one at the bottom of the hallway" Jayce pointed out with his finger as he gave him the key, also since you slept the whole 4 days, and are not as tired as I am, you can go ahead and check out the facilities. Do some sniffing around, maybe get your ass kicked a couple of times" the last part was said with a smug grin on his tired face.

"Yeah, yeah, have fun hibernating" said Dom as he began making his way to his new room.

He's room was ok he supposed, other than the basic necessities in quite a big room, everything had a neutral decoration, a bed, an end table, a table with a couple of chairs, complete with a full bathroom.

Having already unpacked Dom decided he will go and search for the training area, a task far from difficult given that once he stepped out of the dorm corridors the distinctive sound of battle could be easily heard. Heading to the arena was also quite a walk, since on his path he noticed all the strange warriors and creatures that were on this place, such as a giant tree, a giant drunk man who seemed to be laughing or shouting, an enormous green blob with quite a personality, aside from all the simple warriors that were preparing for combat.

Once he entered the training grounds his eyes grew wide at the sight before him, the training was full of equipment and warriors, filled with everything one would need to become stronger. Although marveled by the sight, Dom was still paying attention to his surroundings and noticed quite a discomfort on behalf of many of the human fighters. Sayings such as "that's a trick" or "magic is cheating" resounded equally both in the smaller and bigger men in the area, which to Dom seemed concerned given that many of them looked like they could, in fact, sustain a pretty good duel, but those were thoughts that would have to wait.

As he began walking further into the compound he began to inspect the place, to the right he could see what appeared to be a training dummy field, and as he watched how some of the warriors attacked with their weapons, they simply appeared to take no damage whatsoever, by which he was greatly fascinated. On the left side, a sort of muscle building camp was established, where he could see how men and women alike where exercising using a variety of equipment. What really got his attention though was the big dome-like shaped structure that was in the far center of the arena, just past what seemed to be a resting area in front of the three established spots. This building was white and sturdy, it seemed that light was coming out of what appeared to be the entrance on both sides of the structure, without thinking Dom proceeded in that direction.

As he walked through the crowds he immediately thought of looking for someone working here to give him some information, although to his dismay there was no one who fitted that description. Everyone was as angry and perturbed just as if they had constantly been suffering for a long time. Each time Dom tried to approach someone, their eyes would shine with malice making him a bit uncomfortable and scared to even approach them. " _Man what is wrong with everyone?"_. He continued to walk until he approached something that seemed to be a mob shouting at someone, and upon arriving he witnessed something which got him on his nerves, as a bunch of men were shouting at a woman, who seemed unperturbed by the barrage of insults directed at her.

"That weapon is not allowed, there is no way that can be possible you must have been helping her! You two should go, f*ck magic, the world is better without you!"

That display drove Dom to the edge, although he chose his fights only when necessary this display of arrogance and wrongdoing sparked within him anger he had not experience in a while. "What is your problem you brute!" he shouted with conviction on his eyes "Stop your nonsense and leave her alone". Although his tone didn't waver he took notice of the increase of anger that raised around the mob. "Who the fuck are you rat?! Shut up before we decide to put you to sleep" said the man who appeared to be the one leading everyone.

"That would be against the rules of the institute and would by all means give you a deserved punishment" interjected the woman sitting as she opened her eyes and took a look at what was unfolding before her.

"AAArrgggg so you can talk fucking muppet! I'm tired of your shit!"

An instant is all you need to make a decision towards good or bad, as Karma who sat there knowing well enough that no one of those men were able to hurt her was already prepared to block the incoming punch directed at her, what she didn't expect was the brilliant light which in an instant steeped between both of them, both blocking the punch and delivering a precise and effective blow to the liver of the man, causing a pained scream and a shock through the audience.

"AAAAAAGGGuehehehe" cried the man as he rolled on the ground in front of the black and white-haired man, " _Ahh shit"_ thought Dom as everyone looked at him with anger in their eyes, everyone except the lady at his side which could not contain his laughter at the pathetic cries of the man on the floor.

"Hahaha, so you followed someone who couldn't even withstand a punch? You pathetic sheep, what are you going to do now that the wolf is done for? Hahaha" said Karma between laughs obviously enjoying every moment she could, as everyone just stood there without moving an inch. "That's what I thought, now pick up your trash and get away from my sight before I call security explaining how you all participated in trying to punch someone, or light boy here gives you the same treatment, whichever comes first" said Karma through a wink directed at Dom, inciting the movement of those close to the flailing man picking him up and moving out of the scene as quick as possible.

"I think I owe you my thanks for saving me" Karma stood before Dom giving a light bow.

"No problem", Dom said politely and quite in a hurry, "Although I have the strange suspicion that uhhh you didn't need my help" Dom added as he felt before his interjection the immense amount of energy that formed around Karma at that moment.

"Well that's quite perceptive of you, my name is Karma, pleased to meet you, so could you do me a favor and turn off the lamp, it's a bit uncomfortable looking up"

"Aaaa sure, sorry" he said as his power receded, and his hair was beginning to lose the distinctive shine. "I'm Dom, ups sorry, my name is Dominick pleased to make your acquaintance" said Dom a bit forced.

"Don't worry, I actually prefer Dom, yeah it suits you well, so I'll call you that" Karma said as Dom nodded. "You must be new here, tell me why have you come here?" Karma commented with clear curiosity and a plan in mind.

"Well, it's difficult to think of an answer, I mean my friends brought me here, in search of growing stronger" Dom explained showing how honestly confused he was at his presence there.

Karma just stood there with a smile that was making Dom nervous, and clearly thinking something which seemed to make her more and more happy by the second.

"Hey Dom do you know what this building is?" Karma asked with a smile.

"Uhh, I , no, no idea, I don't know anything about this place or others for that matter"

"Well you are in luck, let me explain what this building is" Karma said as she began walking towards one of the entrances of the building. "This building was formerly known as the Fields of Justice, it served as a battleground between nations where soldiers and warriors elected by each city would duel inside, with the benefit of not permanently dying"

"So you can't die inside there? How is that possible?" Dom interjected with a confused look on his face.

"Well the specifics extend my grasp of understanding, but if I had to put it in some way, would be that thanks to magic, your physical body stays in a room, while your conscience and a magical body identical to yours gets created in a plane of existence by high power wizards called summoners. Sounds logical?"

"Well I, hmm not to me, but I can't sense that you are lying to me. I just have one question, what is this room and what are we doing here?" Dom asked as Karma had brought him inside one of the entrances and slowly began to back away.

"Don't you worry, the process of adjusting only hurts the first couple of times, and by the way, you need to stay sharp, she's been really angry with her opponents lately so don't take it personally if an insult or two come out of her mouth, ok? Right, good luck." Karma said with that ever-plastered grin on her face as she closed the door and light began to fill the room gradually increasing at a steady pace.

"Heeeeyy! Karma what is this? What is happening?" Dom shouted at the now closed door. "Why is my head spinning so much?"

"Take a seat Dom, don't think too much, you are now being transported to the arena by the summoners, I'll be watching so do your best!" Karma said lastly as her voice and steps grew distant.

" _Ok, ok relax, take a seat and let it happen, let what happen?! What is this?_ " Dom's brain was going two miles per hour as he sat there just enduring the stimulus and headache that this energy was provoking him.

" _Hey, you newcomer, just breath okay, don't make it more difficult"_ a voice said in his head, although still somewhat perplexed at the situation, Dom did as instructed, closed his eyes and suddenly color and light filled his view as in an instant he as transported to what seemed to be a frost biome with a bridge that stretched upon an abyss.

"What is this?" Dom said to the air, and was quickly answered by the same voice from before, " _This will be the battleground for your duel, your opponent is ahead already"_

Dom wasn't sure who was this opponent, but he had the hunch that it was who all the other fighters where calling a cheater. "Well cheater of not I won't lose to anyone!" Dom said as he began walking. " _I would just have hoped that I didn't have to fight on a bridge suspended on a fcking abyss!"_ Dom screamed internally as the voice in his head returned once more.

" _Oh that, yeah someone named Vi called earlier, she said_ _to set your default arena to this one"_

"THAT BRIDBRAIN!"


	4. My light is yours

_**Irelia's POV**_

Three days had passed and not a single worthy opponent, it started fun as she began destroying everyone with little effort but all that's left is anger and disappointment.

" _How am I supposed to enjoy something if it's not even worth my time?! What's the purpose of this whole trip if I can't even sweat with a fight, the dummy at least made me work out before succumbing to the floor"_ As she pondered she began to look at his next opponent, facing him she began to recognize something was off at a distance and became even more apparent as he approached. _"Oh great another small one, ahhh this one doesn't even have a sword with him, what a disaster. What is he doing? Is he mad? Why is he flailing his arms like that? Hmm, it must be a technique to psyche himself up. Either way that's not going to help."_

"Stop right there, let me warn you that your attempts are… hey…" Irelia began to say until she noticed this guy didn't even acknowledge her presence.

"That birdbrain, fat hands, I swear she is just uncontrollable. _I do it because we are family!_ Such bullshit, she is going to regret it! I'm going to fill her donuts with mustard, yes! That will teach her respect!" Dom continued to rant as she approached the center of the bridge.

"Hey you stop!" He clearly didn't hear. "Heeeeeyy!" Nop, not a sign. By this moment Irelia's patience had already vanished as she grabbed a rock and threw it at his forehead.

"Ouch what the! No one told me I could feel pain in here! Who did that?... Oh uhhh hey." Dom stood closer to his opponent than he would have liked to be. She stood just a couple of centimeters below his height, her facial features well defined, a body toned and ready to attract looks, but more importantly, her eyes showed determination and strength, both of which were present at the moment mixed with unmistakable anger, and a big scowl.

"Hey uhhh, that's it? AAaaaahhhh I should have stabbed you like 8 times the moment you steeped up in front of me." Said Irelia with a trembling voice filled with anger as she tried to speak in a coherent tone. "Maybe I'll do it while you ask for forgiveness" She said as every ounce of her body tried to remain calm despite the obvious contrast of his actions. How was he to ignore a warrior? He was well balanced, she could see his physique was not that much different from hers, what caught her attention was that she couldn't see a weapon with him.

"MY DEEPEST APOLOGIES!" Said Dom as he tried hard for it to sound sincere, "It's just that someone played a prank to me and I got really bothered for no reason, sorry it won't happen again!"

As he bowed she could sense that he was really sorry for his action, but that didn't change the fact that she was wasting her time with him and was ready to face her next opponent. "Yeah right look nothing personal, but I'm going to finish you quickly and wait for a challenge!"

"You wha…!" Just as Dom was finishing his sentence 8 blades and a girl launched herself at him barely giving him time to jump out of the way, just to continue for three consecutive jumps to evade by a small margin the blades being launched at him.

"So that's your weapon? Like quick feet?" Irelia teased with a mixture of curiosity and astonishment as he was the first person to challenge her speed.

"Not exactly" Dom said with a grin on his face, "But I have yet to find someone with my speed." The moment he finished that, a white line lighted up in his head, along with a hilt he took from his back transforming in what appeared to be a sword made of energy.

She loves challenges, the adrenaline rushing, that anticipation before the collision, that's why there was no more to say as she readied her blades and took a deep breath of concentration.

*Clank*

*Clank*

*Clank*

The sound of electricity running through metal was heard in the abyss, sparks flew as Dom's Blade began to parry the barrage of attacks that Irelia was performing. To say the least it was difficult enough to defend against two blades but eight coming from all directions? That's when the word cheating came into his mind, just for a moment, before it was replaced with the word awesome, but no one was beating him, not today he thought as he jumped away.

"That's pretty amazing, how do you control them?" Dom asked after the furious exchange.

"They are linked to me" she said without a tone of exhaustion in her voice. "You are the first one that manages to stay up to par with me, let's see if you can handle this!"

Another charge, this one stronger than the other Dom could sense that she was planning something but for the time being he would have to withstand the attacks with all his concentration. As the blows kept coming he was beginning to notice the subtle changes on the blades, how they were getting with every swing more distant, and began clashing against him at angles which seemed impossible to defend. Just as the attacks kept going, one of the blades passed through his defenses, slashing at his side, just enough to leave a superficial cut, making him wince in pain, but allowing his concentration to keep at her attacker.

"I have you know!" Irelia shouted as her blade on the other side began reaching for the same spot as the previous one.

*Clank*

She heard as the next thing she registered was a kick to her stomach sending her flying a couple of meters back gasping for air. She witnessed how his sword had extended his range allowing this light warrior to reach in an instant her attack and countering it perfectly.

There was no mistake to her, she knew it, the thrill of an opponent to beat, she was ready, that kick wasn't the least condescending, he had kicked her with all his power proving her he was serious.

"Yeah.. That feel good? Hhaaaahh.. like tell me, why are you not tired?" Dom asked only to be met with silence and those eyes shining a killing instinct, but he had noticed, she smiled with every slice of her sword, a thin smile which he had seen within their exchanges, she was enjoying it as much as him.

"Ok miss, Haaaahhhhh… How about we switch roles?"

*Clank*

*Clank*

*Clank*

Sometimes a second is all you have to react at a given situation, such as the time Irelia had to begin parring the blows thrown at her, fast paced and well positioned they allowed at the moment, no chance for a counter attack, sparks created by the friction were now shining towards her face. What came at a surprise which she managed to defend just in time was the ability of the light warrior to shrink and enlarge his blade mid-attack, action that made her enter in a completely defensive position against him until both gained some distance again.

"How about this!" Dom shouted as he pointed his sword at her concentrating his energy and releasing a blast of to her opponent.

At the same time, Irelia commanded her blades to surround her, dissipating most of the shock and launching her own counter attack at the unexpected warrior, managing to gaze his left arm with two blades launched at him.

"Ahh, hhhaaahh… that really hurt you know?" Dom said still with a smile on his face, looking at the still somewhat stunned figure analyzing his every move. At that moment he realized that she was missing two blades. Which were behind him and showed no signs of moving, so this gave him an idea.

"You are not very talkative, are you?" said Dom to the still stoic and focused girl in front of him.

*Clank*

"Oh sh.." She was serious now, there was nothing more, he thought as he knew she was putting all of her efforts in this charge, making him do the same. Sparks flying through the arena as the two of them didn't lend an inch to the other both concentrating all their power and focus in attack and defense.

Muscles tensing, jarred breaths and exhaustion were starting to play an important role as even now the Blade dancer was beginning to show signs of discomfort. But just before continuing it's assault both of them heard a voice inside their heads.

"Time limit has been reached, commencing desynchronization"

"What! No! Wait!" shouted in vain Irelia as the existence of the space began to fade away, and as everything was beginning to vanish she conveyed a message to the warrior. "Wait for me outside" she said with a solemn voice. Dom suddenly appeared in the room where Karma had left him, only this time he had a massive headache, and the one who greeted him was Jayce wearing an even more exasperating and smug look on his face than normal.

"Well, well look how decided to make some friends, hahaha" he said as he putted his arm around his shoulder and approached his face slowly to his ear. "To be honest I think you make a perfect couple" he finished and stepped away just to avoid the grasp of the still stunned Dom who seemed had problems to move.

"Shut up! Alright! I didn't even think of that!" Dom shouted as his cheeks flushed red.

"Hahahaha, that's why you are still single kiddo!" he said as he tried to tease him some more before remembering what he saw. "Oh yeah didn't she told you to wait at the exit?"

"Wait, how did you know?" Dom said as Jayce responded.

"Every match is transmitted through the showroom, man I had a great time with this girl, Karma"

"Yeah, I don't know why she reminds me of you too, anyway let's get out of here I need to breathe before my brain gushes out of my ears, I can't think straight" Dom said as he and Jayce made its way out of the room and to meet the blade dancer.

Before long Dom was out of the building and began walking toward the center of the arena, seeing the blade warrior doing the same at the other side. The only problem was that she seemed to be even more serious than in the match and was ignoring a pleading Karma by her side trying to calm her down.

Dom didn't know how to react to the aggressive machine, what seemed odd to him was that now he couldn't even think, it was as if the link inside the arena had messed with his sense of self, what he could say was that she seemed even more stunning now that she wasn't fighting, nervousness began to attack him as he stood there until the blade warrior stopped before him, pointing a finger at his face.

"You are now my rival, I will crush you tomorrow without mercy!" said the proud blade dancer with his head high up and a commanding voice. Much to the dismay of Karma who was massaging her temples at all moments.

To say Dom was not in the right mindset to even process correctly all the inputs directed at him was an understatement, to this point his head was a mess, everything seemed strange and he could hardly even think before moving or talking, as he would have found out later he foolishly decided to open his mouth.

"Sure!" he said in an exciting tone, "Hey what is your name?" He asked quite freely causing Irelia to tilt his head in confusion at the rather peculiar lack of fighting spirit previously shown, none the less she felt he had earned the right to know her name.

"My name is Irelia, Blade dancer of Ionia" she proclaimed in a dignified tone, only to be meet with a smile and a subtle laugh as he repeated her name a couple of times under his breath, an action that for some reason made her angry. "What are you laughing about?! Do you think my name is funny?" She exclaimed in a far less dignified tone as she approached the daydreaming man challenging him as he still had that exasperating smile on his face.

"No, I think it's beautiful"

With the end of that sentence, different things happened, such as Karma lifting a hand to her mouth hiding the amusement and a wide grin, Jayce who had been hearing from a distance let out a suppressed laugh as he covered his mouth and nose trying desperately to maintain his composure. To Irelia though, everything seemed to ignite as her face grew red, her eyes widened considerably, and a lightning punch escaped her reasoning and grasp of the situation nailing Dom directly in his stomach.

"Ooofff.." exhaled Dom as he somehow was barely standing on his feet. "Yeah … hahh.. my n-name is Dominic, you can call me Dom" he said looking down grabbing his knees. "Pleased to meet you" he added at the end looking back at the still wide-eyed and showing a sincere smile if someone that has been punched in the stomach could make one.

"I, I'll beat you tomorrow!" proclaimed in a quickly pace Irelia as she passed both the still laughing Jayce and Dom who was now on his knees in the ground.

Karma also said his farewell and before leaving she hunched over to Dom and with a hand in his shoulder she said, "You did great!" She was still laughing. "Just make sure to beat her at least one time tomorrow okay? See you guys later" With that, she upped her speed to a light trot in order to catch a fuming Irelia in the distance.

After a couple of seconds, the now freely open laugh of Jayce resounded in Dom's ears as he approached and lifted him to his feet by his shoulder. "Hahahaha, that's one way to do it I suppose" he said through his seemingly uncontrollable fit of laughter. "I didn't know you cloud be so direct, maybe I've been teaching you well huh?"

"Shut up! Ahhh I can't believe I said that this headache is killing me" Dom said as they were now walking to their dorms.

"HA!, well tomorrow is another day. In any case are you ok? Do you need something?" Said Jayce as they were opening the door to Dom's bedroom, which after a few seconds he turned around to answer the question.

"Yes" he said with a tired and exasperated face. "I'm going to need a couple of bottles of mustard when we get back, ok? Remember that." With that the door closed leaving a perplexed and thinking Jayce to ponder why would someone need only bottles of mustard.


	5. My dance is my rule

"Irelia wait!" shouted karma as she was struggling to keep up with the fast-paced girl heading straight to her room. "Are you even hearing me?" asked Karma as she could see how she was murmuring something under her breath in a rapid tone. "Ahhh Ionia send her guidance, ok enough!" Karma waited until they were almost at their dorms at a visibly empty corridor before rooting her in place with a magic cord on the spot.

"What is your problem? Release me!" demanded Irelia in a hurried tone.

"What is my problem you say? Pardon me miss high and mighty but I don't remember being me the one who punched someone in the stomach." At those words Karma noticed that the red tinge on Irelia's cheeks was beginning to gain some color.

"I'm going to kill him tomorrow" she said, as she looked at her fists with a scowl on her face.

"Oh great, ok to your room we got things to talk about." Just before Irelia could interject that statement, Karma chanted some magic words, and, in an instant, she was pushing her at an incredible speed until both of them were now inside her room. "Ok now you are going to stay quiet and let me talk" Irelia knew this wasn't a question, Karma rarely seemed that insistent on something and she could count with one hand all the occasions where she had seemed this serious. "Irelia you got to control yourself, alright? You can't go around, declaring rivals and punching them to the ground, you are a representative of Ionia." At this bold statement she saw how Irelia was beginning to plan her rebuttal, but Karma cut her in time and continued her lesson. "Don't you dare say it's his fault alright." At this Irelia lost her impulse to continue and instead took a deep breath as Karma continued. "Look Irelia you are my closest friend alright, I really love you. I've known you since we were both little and I want the best for you? I want you to have other friends. Me and Lee will be at your side forever, but you can't live your life thinking that you don't deserve friends or that they are better off not being with you. It breaks my heart when I think about you being lonely back at Ionia. That is why Lee and I thought that maybe here where you could fight without harm, you could share a friendship with someone, learn what it is to trust someone else besides us two." Finishing this Karma could sense how Irelia was looking now at her feet pondering how to act in this situation, and finding she was a bit lost in her own silence decided to continue with what she knew Irelia will like to comment. "That duel seemed kind of intense I thought that he was going to win at some point" Karma commented with a cocky grin as she sat beside Irelia.

"Nonsense, he wasn't even close" said Irelia regaining some of her composure.

"Hmmm?" karma pondered as she scratched her chin. "I am pretty sure he nailed you with a full force kick to your stomach, he even made you sweat" at this statement Irelia only turned away not acknowledging her comments. "Come on Irelia budge for me a little ok, we are friends and I want to know how you felt. Tell me was it at least fun?"

With a sigh, and a stretch Irelia began to feel seemingly more comfortable as she answered. "Yeah, ok, I can't remember the last time I had a rough opponent besides Lee, I guess it was fun."

"I knew it! You were enjoying the fight!" Karma declared excitedly waiting for her to continue.

"Yes, it was fun ok. I'm certain "Sparkles" there was also enjoying it as he had a plainly visible grin pasted on his face." That sentence earned her a flick on the forehead.

"You know his name don't you? Say it." Karma insisted.

"Ok ok! _Dooooom"_ she said in a mocking tone. "Was also having fun, there you happy?"

To say that Karma was happy would be an understatement as she could already notice what effect even saying his name had on the face of the young warrior, but that was something for another day. "Ok I think I'll let you rest." said Karma as she planted a kiss on her head and moved through the door. "Buuuut before I go I want to make a little bet with you." This peeked Irelia's interest as Karma has never been one to gamble even at the slightest, so she urged her to continue. "I'll get for you one of those invincible dummies for you to take to Ionia, if you manage to beat him at all duels tomorrow" this certainly peeked her interest as she would be able to practice for as long as she wanted if she could have one of those dummies. Sensing the shine in her eyes Karma continued with the bet. "But if you manage to lose" she paused as she slowly approached the expecting gaze of Irelia. "You will have to invite Dom for a meal at the gardens." She finished with a wide smile, as the ears and cheeks of the warrior were now red, and she was pondering really hard on the options. "Come on I'm sure that would be no problem for you right?" Karma teased some more.

After that Irelia stood up to face her friend, "Are you sure you can get that dummy?"

"Of course I can" Karma quickly answered.

"Then it's a deal" She stretched her hand and accepted upon a handshake.

"Yes!" Exclaimed Karma as she ran straight to the exit, "You better be ready princess I would think that Shinny boy, ups, Dom eats quite a lot.", and with that Karma disappeared leaving a slightly concerned and anxious Irelia to meditate in what she had just agreed upon.

* * *

 ** _As a new day progressed we found ourselves in the same position as the last fight, both of them were ready since early in the morning and had for some time now been trading blows._**

*Clank*

Both crashed again as steel and energy bet one after the other, a smile across Dom's face and a little smirk between Irelia's attacks could be seen by both until someone made a mistake.

*Thrust* "Ahh" *Thrust* "Shit!"

Two daggers finally crossed Dom's guard as exhaustion took its part in the duel. What came to a surprise for Dom was that he was still conscious on the floor without respawning at the base, while Irelia looked down upon him with a victorious smile on her face.

"Awww come on, take them out, this feels gross!" Dom was freaking out as he still didn't faint completely and could see both blades, one on his abdomen and another one on his right shoulder, completely buried within him. "Come on now, this is no fun" to that Irelia only twisted slightly a blade to gain a reaction from the fallen warrior. "Ooouuuch! You saddist! Stop it! I know you are enjoying this!" he exclaimed as he could very well see and sense the satisfaction in Irelia's face. "Con you please finish me so I can come back good as new? … AAAA NOO WAIT!" he managed to shout before all the other 6 blades came flying towards him in a bloodless fury from the sky.

Irelia couldn't understand what she was feeling, for one, the thrill of winning the first fight against her rival was raging inside her, filling her with power and confidence in her abilities. Although there was something more as she realized how funny it was to impale her now newly defeated rival on the floor, and hearing his monologue on his first death on the rift was filling her belly with a pleasant sensation similar to a stomach ache, although she still couldn't manage to identify this feeling but would soon find out as she saw a squirming Dom cautiously making his way toward the center of the bridge near her.

"Those blades are fricking cold you know!" he squirmed some more massaging the areas were her blades had made an impact. "Like you didn't need all of them! Fuck, I'm going to see those things in my nightmares." Exclaimed Dom at her, not finding the least suspicious she was covering her mouth continued on his rant about the experience he had just endured. "Hey you!" He knocked his own head a couple of times. "Yes I'm talking to you magic fairy! What was that about not dying immediately huhh! That should be said as a disclaimer on the front desk! Not when you are stabbed repeatedly by flying daggers! Haaahhh!" Dom took a deep breath sensing he wasn't getting an answer and turned to look at the still observing and somewhat unstable Irelia. "Ok just to clarify next time, let's mark this area here." He motioned a line at the height of his belly button up. "And this area here" motioning a line starting at half of his thighs down. "As acceptable stabbing areas ok? Like please, please don't you ever send one of those things down there, I still can feel my knees shaking just thinking about how close it was!"

"Ppppffpffpfp" that's a sound she has never made, as such even though they should be in the middle of a fight she had the urge to put her knees on the ground, as another quite loud sound escaped her hand which was covering her mouth. "Pppfffhaaaaffff"

"It's not funny ok?! That was even scarier than heights! And we are in the middle of a fucking precipice!" he pointed out in a condescending but playful tone, knowing well what was happening to the blade dancer who seemed to be at her wit's end.

"Ha ha haahahahhaah" she punched the ground as a hysterical laugh escaped her lips. There was no reason for her to be in this position she tried to reason with herself, only to realize that her thinking capabilities were at this moment not cooperating the slightest through her fit of laughter. "You should have seen your face! Hahahahaha!" she pointed out at Dom as he just put his hands on his pockets.

"What? Every man would be scared something like that crossed sensible territory." He said nonchalantly as Irelia was still laughing.

"Hahahahah ok ok, I'll try to aim a bit better next time" she said as her laughter began to stop.

"You mean if I ever let you have another chance" Dom declared as he took his offensive stance.

"In your dreams" Irelia countered as she now began to focus on the opponent in front of her.

 ** _*At the end of their fights, they had fought a total of five times, resulting in five wins for Irelia, although Dom had been on the last two fights really close to win, managing to lay deep cuts on Irelia, but fell to her strikes in the end._**

Finishing desynchronizing, Irelia started walking through the exit, exited by the results she had gotten and having won the bet against Karma she walked confidently outside where she found her friend waiting on a bench near the arena.

"I believe I won your bet" she said proudly as she stood with a smile in front of Karma.

"That you did, she said calmly, I will make the arrangements, so we can take one of the dummies when we go home."

Irelia could say she was proud of herself, but this bubbly feeling on her stomach made her think it had to be something else, it felt really similar to that incident on the bridge.

"I would like to say that I think you won something more today than a practice dummy" Said Karma as she smiled at her, to which Irelia quickly responded.

"Of course, I did, I get to ditch my part of the deal" She proclaimed as Karma raised an eyebrow at her still smiling, that is where she saw a familiar character approaching.

"Hello Dom, good fights, you managed to give princess here quite some problems, isn't it right Irelia?" Karma started catching off guard the blade dancer.

"You managed to sneak some attacks through my defense but still have ways to go in order to beat me" She said pridefully.

"Thanks Karma" he bowed as he turned to Irelia scratching her head "Well I managed to get close a couple of times, considering I'm facing eight blades, I'll say it's just a matter of time until my victory spree starts." He said the last part decisively as he looked Irelia directly and gave her a big smile.

"Yeah as if" Irelia said turning to her side quickly wondering why facing him straight started to make her feel uncomfortable, if not somewhat stiff.

"We'll have to see tomorrow, I think I got stabbed enough times for today" said Dom in a melancholic manner evoking a tiny smirk on Irelia's lips, making her start commenting on how satisfying it was to see Dom's scared face before her blades would finish him, and making Dom refute that every man has a weakness.

All the while Karma was sitting with a smile on her face seeing the exchange, and what seemed to be a content Irelia, too bad Dom couldn't manage to win a single round she thought.

"Ok I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning?" Dom casually said as she prepared to leave

"Yeah sure I'll make time to beat you up again tomorrow" Irelia said as she waved her goodbye's as well as Karma.

"Ha good one princess" he said as he waved back and started heading the other direction. "I'll make sure to slice you in half tomorrow" he said in a low voice as he thought no one would hear him, sadly and to his dismay someone did hear those words.

"Dom" is name was called by the blade dancer sending a shrill down his spine as he awkwardly turned to see the one who addressed him. "If I were you, I'll consider getting some metal diapers before tomorrow" she said with a tiny smirk, she waited for a second to see Dom's immediate reaction by dropping his hands reflexively covering his "sensible parts" before turning around smiling and continuing to walk.


	6. Your light is my future

**_Two weeks Later / Irelia's POV_**

Irelia couldn't identify clearly this sensation, for the past two weeks she had been practicing and fighting with Dom on a daily basis and each and every single day she woke up eager to see him and fight but this was making her head and stomach squirm, not letting her catch her sleep as she turned and tossed to no avail in her bed.

"Ahhhh" she sighed as she got a pillow on her face, as she again began to roll around remembering what happened today as her face began feeling hot again.

* * *

Thrust* "Shit" Dom said already used to the weird feeling of being stabbed inside the field.

Irelia had her trade mark smirk as she triumphantly proclaimed "I won... again"

"Yeah I guess so" said Dom on his knees as he was beginning to 'revive' on the base. "Hey, let's leave it here for today" he said calmly before asking the blade dancer, "Irelia can you wait for me outside? I will like to ask you something."

Irelia raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised about the sudden question "Sure, see you outside" she said as Dom gave her a wide smile as he teleported back to his own end of the field.

Meeting again in front of the magic building, Dom motioned her to follow him outside as how he stated, it was too loud in the arena, as they began to walk towards the back garden while they talked about today's match. Irelia wasn't sure what his plan was, but if there was something certain, she actually came to enjoy these little moments with his close rival, there weren't many opportunities where she found some time to talk with him beside the field. She began to notice that Dom was… maybe rather foolish, as most of the time he seemed to be making jokes or deciding to do something dumb; like when he tried mixing soda flavors in the cafeteria proclaiming that maybe they will taste better together ending in a horrible flavor as he described and getting his tongue purple for about two days. Or that time when a little girl appeared from a portal in front of them and asked if they could show her some tricks to impress someone who she described as an explorer, only for Dom to begin walking on his hands and subsequently slipping thanks to the slime on the rocks near the garden and ending with his face on the mud. Even remembering these events almost always got a smile on her face and made her chuckle a bit.

As they approached the garden Dom decided to interject their current conversation to ask something which at the moment didn't cause her any suspicion.

"Hey Irelia, so tell me what are your plans for tomorrow?" he asked casually looking at her as they walked.

"Well training" she replied fast, almost as if the question was kind of pointless, but that didn't stop Dom as a retort came almost immediately.

"What?, you know it's Sunday tomorrow right?" he said in a playful manner but not getting a reaction from the blade dancer. "Riiiiight, hmmm sooo…." Dom began to say as Irelia could see he was trying to formulate a sentence but had difficulty in getting them out. "Tomorrow I'll be going with Jayce to the neighboring town to set up a few things for the festival, since tomorrow marks the start of harvesting season" he said, giving her a hint that tomorrow he would not be available, to practice, which would be kind of an inconvenience but she could survive a day without a worthy opponent she thought, what she didn't expect was that came after. "I would like to know if you would like to come with me, I think it will be fun" he said smiling and scratching his belly.

Irelia was suddenly assaulted with a strange sensation at the center of her stomach as she tried to voice her response, but she found herself completely frozen on the spot. "Karma is coming too" he quickly added, noticing that she wasn't saying anything. "There will be food and some games" he said lastly with a smile, almost as if he wanted her to know how much he wished for her to go.

Her head was a mess for a few seconds, she came here to train, to get better, to release the anger she had been carrying with her, but ever since she came to know Dom, her days had been feeling ever so much lighter and fun, and here he was still looking at her waiting for an answer, which also to her surprise came suddenly as she tried to even speak. "Ok" escaped from her mouth as the wide smile on Dom's face rooted her in her place once more unable to even make a sound as he approached and hugged her so quick she didn't even have a chance to react except for a jolt of electricity to run up her spine making her stiff as a board, followed by a radiating heat coming from her body.

"Great!" Dom exclaimed still holding her stiff shoulders speaking much closer to her. "I'll tell Karma, about the details, see you tomorrow!" he said as he then took a light jog towards the stairs and into the institute waving her goodbye as he entered the building"

* * *

So here she is now, tossing and turning, she didn't even eat dinner since her stomach has been feeling so weird, she even went to bed early not knowing how to think or what to do. " _Why can't I think of anything else?!"_ she screamed internally as she began to relive again the scene in her head, until a certain question began to form in the back of her head, pondering what the invitation meant, only to be interrupted by some loud and rapid knocks on her door. "Who is it?" she asked cautiously as she approached the door.

"It's me, quick open the door" she heard Karma speak in what seemed an exciting and joyful tone, only to comply and get immediately crushed by a hug once she opened the door. "AAAAAAA" Karma screamed in delight as she bounced up and down to a completely confused Irelia. "I can't believe it's happening I'm so excited" she continued to scream having now released the young warrior of her grasp.

"What happened? What got you like that?" She asked immediately only to be meet with a wide grin.

"What do you mean? You are coming to the festival!" making her remember and once again put color on her cheeks, something Karma was noticing but decided to wait for her response.

"Yes I'm going, just for a little bit" she said quickly at the end avoiding Karma's gaze.

"Are you excited? Tell me what dress are you going to wear? Can I do your hair? I brought some beautiful hairpins I can lend you some if you want!" Karma was almost screaming at this point making Irelia wonder what got to her.

"Dress? Why would I need a hair pin Karma? I think you are over reacting a bit" Irelia said interrupting her excited friend.

"Whaaat!? Of course you need it, Dom and Jayce are going with formal traditional attire. Besides, you should always look stunning for your first **_date._**

"Wha…" was the only sound that came out as a wave of emotions much stronger than ever before made her froze in place, as she could definitively feel that her face must be completely red for how much heat she felt on her cheeks.

"It's going to be amazing! Jayce also asked me to join him, aaaaaaaa!" Karma screamed with both hands con her cheeks, only to the notice how flustered Irelia seemed on the spot. "Tell me how did he asked you?"

"I-I, we… went t-to the garden, h-he asked me, I said ok, he…." she stopped suddenly only cover her cheeks as she remembered what happened next and how close they were. An act that didn't pass unnoticed by the now visibly more excited Karma.

"What! What happened! Did he kissed you!? Spill the truth!" Karma squealed in an overly excited tone as she held her shoulders.

"No! He didn't!" she almost shouted visibly flustered, "He just suddenly hugged me, and I… didn't know what…. was happening, and…." she trailed off as she saw Karma with the widest smile she has seen her yet and a visible tinge of red on her cheeks as she quickly let her go, approached the door almost running and left the room as Irelia could hear how she went running down the hallway.

Just seconds later she flopped on her bed, a barrage of thoughts running through her mind every second trying to figure out what was happening. " _What is happening!? Why am I so nervous! Ahhh"_ she tried to regain her composure. " _I mean it's not that I don't want to go, Dom is a good person, he tried to be courteous and invited me, I just couldn't refuse because he seemed so happy, and I like it when he is happy and... wait …wait…" j_ ust as she was about to spiral more into her current thought her door opened showing Karma fully dressed in her pajamas with a pillow under her arm.

"This is going to be sooooo fun!" she screamed as Irelia could do nothing more than resign herself to what will probably be one of her longest nights.

 ** _The Next Day, Dom's POV_**

"Ok that should do it" said Dom with confidence as the last of the stalls were finally set up and ready for the festival. "Hey sir, is there anything else you need help with, Dom said still eager to work it seemed. "No that should be all young one", said the elder man, as he inspected her food stall "You've been working hard since morning you can go ahead and prepare for the party" he added not sensing the growing stiffness of the young man body, "Yeah right… the party, ummm excuse me then" he said as he began to walk towards the meeting spot Jayce had set up in the morning, where he saw was already waiting for him, with a smirk that both angered him and set him on the edge knowing what was to come.

"Ready for a bath player? We need to look good for tonight don't we?" Jayce said with a teasing grin, earning a scowl from the now flustered Dom.

"Shut up! I can't believe you didn't tell me this was a festival for couples! I even went ahead and gave her a hug, shit!" Dom hissed as he mustered all his willpower not to scream at the ever-smiling Jayce.

"At least she said yes, ha! Even I couldn't have predicted she'll accept" Jayce mentioned as he scratched his chin.

"You were the one who told me to invite her! This was all planned wasn't it!" Dom was now on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"And it worked didn't it? Better yet, tell me, you like her, don't you?" Jayce asked genuinely

"I…. aaaa…" Dom couldn't even answer as his head was running on overdrive. " _Do I like her? She is definitively the most beautiful person I have met. When she moves with her blades, how she is always elegant, I mean…"_ Dom continued to analyze every possible aspect he could until Jayce flicked his nose.

"Ok boy listen here, I'm going to give you some tips, first of all, calm down, a date doesn't mean you are getting married ok, second, you got to look cool alright, so we are going to the showers, and most importantly, try to have fun it's a festival not an anxiety park, relax" he said as he began pushing him towards the showers.

"Yeah you are right, ok" He took a deep breath calming himself, "I think I'll be fine" Dom said now with more calm on his voice.

"That's what I like to hear!" Jayce shouted as he gave Dom a pat on the back. "Besides, you never know maybe she likes you too!"

"Jayce shut up!" a flustered Dom shouted again.

"Hahahah, today's going to be great!" he proclaimed as both of them headed to their destination.


	7. Your courage is my strength

**_Night of the festival / Irelia's POV_**

She could feel her heart thumping as the lights of the nearing neighboring city grew this was developing much faster than what she could ever think was possible. More importantly, there was still a certain person that hasn't left her mind since the night before, she didn't even have time to grab her blades as Karma, KIDNAPPED her the whole day.

"Don't worry Irelia, you look absolutely stunning, that dress really suits you" Karma said as she stayed silent soaking in the compliments but wishing them to stop.

" _I haven't worn a dress in years, not even at our own celebrations was I required to wear this! Why did I accept this! I should have worn my combat attire!"_ she pondered as their ride stopped taking her out of her trance and proceeded to walk towards the entrance.

"They should be around here come on let's look for them" Karma pointed out as they proceeded to walk only for a few seconds later find them waiting beside the entrance. "Hey guys we are here!" Karma shouted as both of them turned around.

If Dom wanted to recall his most memorable memories until that moment, he was sure none of them would come close to the sight that made his heart burst in flames as his mind stopped its activity, just, so he could focus all his attention of taking the beauty of the blade dancer. She was wearing a silver dress typical of Ionian culture he supposed, as different patterns of pink flowers covered most of it. Her hair was hanging straight as a beautiful flower clip prevent it from covering her face, which was also adorned with a light pass of makeup as her eyeliner made her eyes look bigger and thus more beautiful.

Irelia could see Dom's figure as she approached, as he was wearing a traditional suit consisting of a light cream-colored pants, a white shit underneath and a slim blue and white coat which complimented his figure and height appropriately. She began to feel her body heating up once more and sort of a knot on her stomach which didn't recede but instead grew bigger as she saw Dom's eyes go wide and his mouth drop as they reached them, a sight that made her laugh a little bit internally but none the less set her even more on the edge of embarrassment as his eyes were solely focused on her as if there was nothing else to see.

"Wow! You really outdid yourselves ladies, Karma you look absolutely shinning" Jayce said earning a smile from karma as she bowed slightly at the compliment. "Isn't that right Dom?" Jayce proceeded to ask him as he lightly jabbed him on the side with his elbow.

"….Beautiful" was the only word he uttered still entranced by the sight of Irelia who at that word took a quick inhale as her chest tightened and her face grew red. "I-I… I mean… y-you look beautiful" Dom quickly said finally averting his gaze from her and lightly scratching his now completely red face.

"T-hank you, you are the same" came out immediately earning a kind of questioning look from Dom as she realized her apparent mistake. "I m-mean… you look fine, I-I mean good, like the colors are clear and…" she stopped herself at that not even thinking what she said anymore she was at the edge of a mental breakdown. " _What are you saying! What is even happening! What am I supposed to say? I don't know anything about this!"_ She screamed internally almost on the verge of running until a familiar sound and sight began to calm her fast-paced heart and began melting her anxiety in a mere second.

"Ha, hahah, haha, ha" Dom began to laugh in a genuine and calm manner as a visible smile showed in his red-tinted face, "Thanks" he said continuing to her surprise in a low tone looking now at her. "I actually am kind of nervous, never done something like this" he stated firmly.

At those words, a pleasant feeling began to run through Irelia, admiring the honesty given to her by the lightning swordsman. Did she seem that nervous? Was she being rude? He could have done many things but at that moment she was actually grateful, he seemed just as lost as she was, but was still offering her a smile regardless of how the situation was unfolding. That smile had seemingly in an instant erased any unpleasant feeling in her body, "I am too" she commented with a light smile as both looked at each other for a couple of seconds until Dom spoke.

"So how about we go in before a crowd forms at the entrance? How about it Jay.. Jayce?" Dom said as now both warriors noticed that their companions weren't there. "Well… let's go?" he asked one more time.

"Sure" Irelia said as both entered the festival.

The mood seemed to improve quite a lot, for the time being, both were enjoying each other's company as they visited the stands and admired the folklore dances. Everything was going great Dom thought until they arrived a particular game consisting of a water tank, a man standing on a platform above and a target beside him, as they passed through a familiar voice rang in Dom's ears.

"Well, well if it isn't matchstick boy, are you enjoying the party asshole?" commented the man on top of the water tank, to which Dom silently watched as he decided to ignore those insults before the man continued. "What not even a word for me? Even though it's your fault I ended up in here you dumb firefly?" he almost screamed as Dom watched him carefully realizing he must have been expelled from the castle for his little incident when he tried to punch Karma.

Dom was getting quite annoyed, but not as much as her companion who was now pretty angry by his comments. "What is your business?" Irelia asked in a solemn voice, one that transmitted dignity and anger at the same time.

"Business? What business?! I don't have anything left since they took my champion status because of him b*tch" he said earning a sharp glare from Irelia but visibly shaking Dom as he stepped up front glaring at the man.

"Apologize now" he demanded

"What, did I do something wrong?" he said in a mocking tone, "There's security all around us, you see, so I'll suggest you take your _slut_ with you and disappear from my sight" he said as he waved his hand up and down while smiling.

"What did you…!" Irelia began to answer visibly angry at the nasty comments before Dom cut her short with his hand and deviant smirk on his face, replacing Irelia's anger and frustration with a curious look as he approached the manager of the game.

"Hello sir, can I have three tries please?" he said paying for the rubber stitched balls and proceeding to stand on the designated area to throw them, all while the man continued lo laugh at his expense.

"What? You are going to play kid? Hahahaha so you are not a man then?" the man on top of the tank said.

*clank* the first of Dom's shots missed the target by a couple of inches.

"HAHAHAHA, you can't even win on a kid's game you pathetic f*ck" he mocked again as the second shot came and missed again. "AHAHAHAHA what are you doing here? You should let your b*tch handle it, you ass*ole" he continued his exchange as for this point Irelia was fuming and ready to stomp this guys head until Dom spoke with what she could only describe a really intimidating voice.

"You better be ready, I won't go easy on you" he said as his hair started glowing and a scowl on his face became for the first time visible, then giving the man no time to even answer he gripped the rubber ball tightly and in one swift motion threw it with such speed that anyone in its path will certainly regret even seeing it. As such it was the case of the man, for Dom didn't aim for the target but his nose which without a doubt broke by the sheer force of the impact only for him to subsequently fall back to the ground landing in some bushes completely knocked out, and out of vision of everyone.

"Sorry for the mess" Dom said as he approached the man in charge of the game and leaving him quite a generous tip for taking out the one who completed his game, earning a chuckle from the old man as he graciously accepted the offer and waved him goodbye.

Irelia was smiling as Dom approached her, for one she knew that what happened wasn't at all right, even though the man clearly deserves it, but she felt happy joyful even with the event that unfolded before her. She eyed Dom for a second looking or wanting to give him a scolding or a lesson but failing at both and settling with a light punch to his arm.

"Hehe… what? I wasn't going to let him talk to you like that." he said before adding on a lower but still audible tone "Or anyone for that matter" causing Irelia again her classical red cheek shade for the night, but she was happy, and this feeling was beginning to feel quite good. "Come on let's go to eat" Dom said as she agreed, and both began walking toward the food stands.

The food was great Irelia thought as she was now enjoying her tea having already finished eating. They were lucky enough to have met Jayce and Karma on a table with extra space which let them enjoy their food sitting down instead of standing. What got her in an even better mood was the fact that Dom was ever so caring about her desires as he almost forced her to sit and enjoy the atmosphere, while he went and made line to buy whichever food she desired. Well line was a big word as he will later explain that thanks to his help by setting up the shops on the evening the owners of the stands gave him a free pass to come and go from the back and skip all the lines, allowing her to try numerous and delicious dishes without the wait.

"Okay we need to get going if we want a good spot for the fireworks" Jayce said as he and Karma stood up. "You can take it easy for now and meet us near the pond we'll save you a spot." Jayce winked as he and Karma waved their goodbyes in search of a spot.

"Okay, we'll meet you there" Dom answered as he was also finishing his juice as he only barely finished eating everything there was on the menu.

"How could you eat that much?" Irelia inquired as she saw the number of empty plates in front of him.

"Well I don't know when is going to be the last time I'll be able to try all this food, so you got to take advantage when the opportunity presents itself" Dom commented as he got his hand into a fist and posed triumphantly on top of all the dishes he had conquered, earning a light chuckle from her as both continued to talk for just a while more.

"We'll I think it's time to go" Dom said as both could see that everyone was starting to leave towards the center pond of the town.

"Yes let's go we still have to find Karma and Jayce" Irelia said as both of them began walking, task that was beginning to be a lot more difficult than previously imagined due to the vast amounts of people. They continued to advance, she noticed that Dom suddenly stopped as he seemed to be thinking about something. "Hey Dom, are you ok?" she asked only to be met with an extending hand and a red-faced man.

"Yes! So ahem… there's a lot of people and we could get separated, so… emmm" Dom began as he was trying to formulate a coherent sentence.

Irelia wasn't dumb, she understood quite quickly what Dom wanted to say. " _The oldest trick in the book"_ she thought as once before she would believe this situation only occurred in romance novels, but now she was on the same spot and without a second more she took his hand silencing the still flustered Dom as a smile formed on his face and both began walking.

Electricity flowed through her body, as a warm heat rose to her cheeks since they were now touching and by default were closer as the crowd grew heavier while approaching the pond. Every once of her attention was set on his hand as she explored all she could feel, how his hand seemed rougher and bigger than hers, how sometimes he will lightly squeeze her prompting the same reaction, but more importantly how happy she felt as they were now closer, and it just felt right to her, continuing to walk she was shaken out of her trance by Karma calling over to them.

"Hey Dom over here!" she shouted, as they reached a spot next to them.

"Thanks for waiting" Dom said

"It's nothing the show it's about to start" Karma stated, deciding to stay silent on the fact they were still holding hands, and just at that moment the first firework made its appearance on the sky signaling the start of the show.

The colors were amazing, it truly was a spectacle, lasting about seven minutes of uninterrupted lights on the sky, ranging from various types of fireworks as each and every single one exploded creating different patterns, ending of course with a big rocket which for a second illuminated the black sky with a yellow light signaling the end of the festival. While everyone still bathed in the afterglow of the light show Irelia felt a squeeze in her hand which made her turn towards Dom, who proceeded to take something out of his pocket.

"I got you something" he continued looking quite scared but pressed on as he revealed a simple yet elegant bracelet, to which both ends were connected to what seemed a clear pearl, the size of a cherry. Irelia was stunned but managed to take the present and continued to examine its beauty, "Also" Dom continued as he held her hand with the bracelet and began rubbing the pearl, which in turn started shinning with a pure white light exactly the same as his hair. "I can concentrate energy into this type of crystals so if you ever are in need of some light you just have to rub it a few times."

Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the light emitting from the bracelet, she didn't hesitate as she got the bracelet to her wrist while afterward reaching out to hold Dom's hand again. "Thank you" she said with a red face as he looked at him once more, now less anxious as he proceeded to smile at her and nod.

Once the show finished and as they were exiting the town Jayce took out a device from his pocket "Hey wait there let me take a picture" the inventor told the group running in front of them a couple of meters earning curious glances and Karma approaching him.

"What is that?" she asked now besides him

"I've been working in a new technology which will let you capture a moment on a screen and even long strings of it, so you can see it later" he stated as Karma raised an eyebrow at the sudden explanation. "Look let me show you" he said as he signaled Irelia and Dom to get closer together, so he could take the photo not minding one bit they still were linked by their hands and giving a smile towards Jayce. "See I told you!" Jayce said triumphantly as the group could see the picture from the device, earning their collective admiration as they all saw what this technology could do, then proceeded to get into their rides as they all were exhausted after the eventful night.

Nearing the end of the trip Irelia could not help to remember all the things she did today, a truly wonderful experience she would say, getting to play different games, eat delicious food, enjoy time with her friends, _"and"_ she thought to herself as she looked to her left hand, still holding Dom's although he was already asleep, she proceeded to rest her head on his shoulder and close her eyes with a smile on her face " _Today was truly wonderful"._

* * *

 _ **Same night / Piltover**_

"So how does he said this worked?" asked Vi as he held a device and clicked different buttons.

"I don't know, just make sure you don't break it, only recently did I figured out how to turn it on" said the sheriff as she sipped her tea on her office, having to deal with guard duty so late in the morning.

"Relax cupcake I don't have my gloves on" said Vi just for a moment later to hear a beeping sound from the machine she was holding.

 ** _*You got a message_**

"What is that?" asked the sheriff curiously as Vi clicked some more buttons.

"I think Jayce mailed us something" she said. "Let's see whaaaaaaaa…" at that moment Caitlyn saw surprise in Vi's eyes as she stood up and approached the girl hugging close to her face the screen of the device, earning quite a surprise from her as well, seeing quite a peculiar image of a person she knew well, holding someone to his side. She then proceeded to sit on her chair with a smile plastered on her face.

"Well Vi you are dismissed for today, go and pack your things I think it's time we take those hard earn vacations"

"OOOOHHHH YEAHHH!" Vi shouted visibly exited at the turn of events.


	8. Forever with you

_**The Institute / Two days later**_

Enjoyment from each other's company seemed to be the new norm, besides training they spend every possible second they could find together, either eating, resting or simply walking through the corridors of the institute. They also seemed more comfortable around each other, their distance was considerably shorter to the point where they occasionally touched the other with their arms. This feeling was amazing Dom thought to himself as they both were walking towards the cafeteria to get dinner but froze in place as a calm and collected voice rose up from one of the seats outside the entrance of the dinner.

"Well hello Dominick, how are you doing today? Having fun?" the sheriff said adding a teasing smile at the end of her sentence. Dom didn't know how to react as when he turned around, saw Caitlyn sitting in a chair with a book, next to her on a sofa was Vi, laying down but giving him a mocking glare. "What, are you that happy to see us that you can't speak?" Vi teased as she began approaching the pair.

All the while Irelia was plainly confused about what could make Dom stand there with a baffled expression, not wanting to admit to herself that the sudden appearance of two girls who knew Dom made her guts turn, she decided to ask. "Dom who are they?" she asked quickly as she shot a sharp glare to the lightning warrior beside her.

Understanding fully the situation that was unfolding and deciding to take control of himself he cleared his throat. "Ahem… You could say they are my 'sisters' she is Vi and over there is Caitlyn" he pointed at their direction. "Likewise… she is Irelia, we are good friends" he added at the end looking away from his sisters with a tint of red in his cheeks.

"So it seems" Vi stated as she threw her arm across Dom´s shoulder`s and pushed her face close to him with the widest teasing smile she could manage to give, to the dismay of the now completely flustered man. "Hey, the name's Vi, nice to meet you" said as she extended her free hand towards the blade warrior, one that she shook instantly, followed by Caitlyn who was now standing beside them both.

"Likewise, I´m Caitlyn, I hope Dom hasn't been giving you a hard time" she stated looking at Dom wanting to see his reaction.

"No, he's been rather attentive" Irelia said calmly earning the look of everyone, an action which got her a bit nervous but didn't let it show on her face.

"Is that right? Hmmm I guess we have much to talk over dinner don't you think so Dom?" Caitlyn asked with a teasing smile watching beads of sweat beginning to form on Dom's forehead, to which he only nodded being still trapped on Vi's grip.

"Okay let's go, I'm starving!" said the pink-haired woman dragging Dom ahead, whispering something to his ear which for some reason seemed to make him very annoyed, Irelia stood watching them enter the cafeteria.

"Hey, are you coming?" said Caitlyn waving her to advance to which she complied, the four of them entering the large cafeteria.

* * *

 _ **That night/ Irelia's room/ Irelia's POV**_

It was quite strange to be in this situation, not only strange but the fact that she was enjoying this sort of talk was beyond what she would have ever dreamed possible. She enjoyed having dinner with these eccentric girls, mainly because they dedicated all their time to tell her about embarrassing and quite shocking stories about Dom, to her what made magic was the reactions and quite effusive refusals Dom launched to prevent any kind of misunderstandings which she deemed quite funny, making her want for some reason to tease him even more. At one point Karma joined them and after a bit of talking and knowing each other she proposed them to have a so-called 'girls' night which to this point had been quite enjoyable.

"Then I charged my gloves to full power and ran right through the wall knocking out four of the bandits in the process, as people inside the building screamed at the top of their lungs because of how awesome it was!" Vi screamed as she mimicked her past actions on top of her bed.

"Yeah I'm sure they enjoyed having a wall blown so close to them while they had dynamite stuck to their chests" Caitlyn said sarcastically which in turn made Irelia and Karma laugh.

"Whatever, saving people my way is way cooler than every one of yours" Vi remarked as the conversation died down, to which Vi took advantage to shift the direction of the conversation. "So, tell us Irelia, is there something that you would like to know?" Vi said as she gave her a sly smile and raised one of her eyebrows.

"Hmmm, what do you mean?" Irelia said as she couldn't think of something specific.

"Well you know there might be some things about someone that maybe you would like to… know?" Vi continued, Karma and Caitlyn had caught up to the scheme and were awaiting Irelia's answer.

"Well there is one thing, but it's kind of embarrassing to ask" she said averting her gaze from the police girl.

At this Karma was more than happy to push her into releasing whatever she wanted to ask. "Come on Irelia there is nothing to be embarrassed about, this is girl's night, meaning, nothing comes out of here, it will forever be a secret" she explained as Caitlyn and Vi agreed waiting for her reply.

"Well… ok, ummm, Vi, I've been meaning to ask" she continue while playing with her hair raising the anticipation of the three girls in the room. "So was your father or your mother the one that had pink hair?"

"…" Only silence remained as all three of them only raised an eyebrow at Irelia until Karma could not hold it in any longer.

"Hahahaha" she started laughing freely as Vi followed her with a burst of even louder laughter, followed by Caitlyn covering her mouth with her hand as she tried to contain her's.

"What? Why are you laughing?" she said as she demanded an explanation.

"Sorry! Hahah, it's just that… hahaha. I wasn't expecting that question! Hahaah" Vi continuing to roll on the floor. "I dye my hair pink! We can do it now a days you know." She explained as now all three began to calm down from their fit of laughter.

"Well excuse me for not knowing! I no one in Ionia has this tradition!" she exclaimed now clearly embarrassed by the question.

"It's ok" Karma interjected, "I only knew a couple of months ago, but what we really want to know involves a special someone who you've been quite close to lately" she said softly.

At that remark her eyes shot wide open and once again embarrassment flooded to her cheeks catching notice of who they were talking about, while she unconsciously started to play with the band of the bracelet she hadn't taken off, a small detail but something a trained detective would easily be able to read, so Caitlyn decided to take charge on what she would now consider an interrogation.

"Well we found out that both of you have been practicing quite a lot and that he invited you to a festival a few days ago. How was it?" Caitlyn finished giving her room to talk about something related but not exactly focused on Dom.

"Well it was good, most of it" she said causing them to inquire about what went wrong. "Well there was this man on a game who started insulting him and me but Dom stepped up to the game and scored him right in the nose with a ball" she said as she remembered the thought with a smile.

"Oooo so he took care of the bad guys huh? Classic Dom, and that bracelet? Did he buy it for you?" Caitlyn asked.

"Well, I, he didn't bought it, he made it" she explained kind of embarrassed as she played with it. "Look at what it can do" she said as she rubbed slightly the crystal pearl making it shine before her three guests.

"So that's why he ordered al those crystals, he must have figured out how to store energy" Caitlyn said as she still watched the crystal with attention before returning her gaze to the carrier.

"So Irelia tell us, do you like him?" Caitlyn asked quite frankly figuring out that chasing the answer with more questions will probably lead to nothing, Karma and Vi at the question waited expectantly for the answer.

"I!" she absolutely froze on the spot, " _How could she ask me that!?"_ she screamed in her head. "I…" she continued to speak as words failed to reach out of her throat. _"Do I like him?"_ she asked herself that one more time before she got the answer. "I… don't know!".

"Eeeehh? What kind of answer is that?" Caitlyn said quite dissatisfied with the answer she got.

"What do you expect me to say!?"

"Well, what do you like him about him?" Cait pressed

"He's a good fighter"

"Anything else?" Irelia stayed silent at her comments clearly unwilling to proceed further from this conversation, and everyone else would have stopped at that moment, but not the two officers, they were professionals and no one ever, since they rose to the top of the police force, had been able to stay silent for long. "Well, in any case, that's quite the gift he gave you, he didn't even ask us, his sisters, if we wanted one" Caitlyn said quite dissatisfied.

"Maybe it's only for someone special" Karma added, getting the reaction she hoped to achieve as Irelia was again hosting a shade of red on her cheeks.

"Hmmm? I don't think so, besides Dom doesn't think about others" Vi said, getting the attention of everyone there and giving a sly smile to Cait. The action quickly caught and immediately followed.

"Yeah, you are right, besides he's pretty boring, who would enjoy spending time with him?" Cait finished, with a smirk, looking at Karma giving her a wink.

Karma took a moment to analyze what was happening, but quickly figured it out, Irelia had now a frown on her face. " _I'm sorry about this princess!"_ She exclaimed internally but none the less continued with the play. "Of course, I mean he wouldn't even lift a finger about trying to help someone".

"Wha!" Irelia shot a look of disbelief at Karma's words and having enough of these girls comments she raised her voice. "How could you say that! There's no one gentler and courteous than him!" she shouted quite angry.

"Whaaaat? How can you say that? I haven't seen him do something worthy of that prise" Vi remarked while sticking a finger up her ear.

"What are you talking about! He does it all the time!" Irelia answered with anger in her tone.

"Like what for example?" Caitlyn commented finishing the trap setup with a smirk.

"He's always thinking about everyone else, there's never a day where he doesn't open the door for me! He always shares his food, keeps me company, never hesitates to fight another round with me even though I know he is tired. Protects those he can from evil, he…"

 *** _Irelia continues to rant_**

" _*Whistle*_ She fell pretty hard and didn't even notice "Vi said to Karma in a quiet tone passing unnoticed over Irelia's rant.

"Well, she can be pretty stubborn, but I think it's just that, she's never felt something like this"

"What do you say cupcake should we help?"

"Well, I think we already helped a lot on this end, it all depends on the other side, I do worry since it's Dom we are talking about, but here…" Caitlyn ended with a sigh and a smirk as they continue to focus on the ongoing barrage of words, which showed no sign of stopping.

"Besides how can you say it's not fun to be around him? Just the other day…"

 *** _Irelia continues to rant_**

"Should we stop this?" Karma asked, now with a nervous smile on her face.

"Of course not! You see Karma this is called the eye of the storm, its relentless, furious and full of energy, becomes more and more destructive the longer it goes, but when it settles and the clouds disappear, we are rewarded with the sweet and unfiltered view of someone realizing everything they have destroyed" Vi ended with a wink.

"Although I don't believe that realization would be a bad thing in this case" Cait added.

"… with a smile on his face. So, you should feel ashamed of saying something so rude and undeserved about him. You… can't… say… w-why are you smiling?!"

"Hmm who knows? Where you even listening to yourself?" Cait followed again still smiling.

"Of course I was! I'm explaining why you are all wrong about him!"

"So let me ask you again. ¿You **_really_** like him, don't you?"

"I told you I…" Then it hit her with a full blow on her heart. It certainly didn't help that all three of them were grinning like maniacs, so she buried her face on her pillow and after a deep breath, the answer came in.

"I think I do"

* * *

 ** _Next day_**

"Attention! This is our first strategy meeting!" Vi shouted in front of her three companions, they all had agreed the night before to meet at the gardens and plan how Irelia could conquer Dom's heart, in an operation labeled "Spark" under Vi's supervision. "Listen! The enemy is dense as a rock and extremely stupid so we'll have to do all the work, understood?!"

"Yes!" two voices shouted as all eyes, directed their attention towards the flustered blade dancer.

"I said, UNDERSTOOD?!" Vi pressed again.

"YES! Ok, Yes!" Irelia shouted firmly while grabbing her hair attempting to calm herself.

"That's what I like to hear! First, lieutenant Karma, what's the routine of our victim? I mean target"

"Yes, captain Vi! He'll most likely wake up and come have breakfast with Jayce, Irelia and I, after that, both would head to the arena and duel until noon, stopping only to eat and continue the same until dinner. Truly and remarkably boring sir!" Karma answered.

"Hey!" Irelia shouted at the comment but was ignored as Vi continued the monologue.

"Perfect! Now that we know his likely whereabouts, what would be the plan commander cupcake?"

"Really simple my dear captain, today we'll do everything in our power to cause embarrassing situations for both, helping them realize their love for each other".

"What do you mean embarrassing situations for both?!" nearing the limit of embarrassment she was able to take.

"So you don't deny the love part?" Caitlyn asked with a huge grin on her face.

"…" Irelia could only sit in stunned silence as the rest of the group smiled warmly at her.

"Well, in any case, we still have things to do, we'll see if we can arrange something at night, ok you are all dismissed" Cait finished and everyone retreated to fulfill their normal routines.

To say the least, this was probably one of the most stressful days Irelia could remember in recent years, she somehow managed to throw her food on the ground when Dom called her from behind, lost all duels before lunch and got teased relentlessly by Cait and Vi during dinner. She was now hanging alone in her room taking deep breaths in order to calm her mind.

 *** _Knock Knock_**

Someone called at the door, Irelia took one deep breath planning to chase away any of the girls who wanted to come in. She wanted some peace of mind and they were annoying. So, she opened the door.

* ** _SLAM_**

Then closed it immediately without hesitation.

"Hey, can I come in? I would like to speak with you" Dom said at the other side of the door. "I can wait if you want, or maybe come tomorrow?" he insisted.

She didn't intend to close the door or even open it again, but something about his voice sounded, wrong, sad is the adjective she would use. So, against all reason, she slowly opened the door.

"Come in" she said calmly finally looking at his face and rewarded with a big smile.

Once he entered Dom took a long and analyzing look at her room, although not much different than his, she had quite a few items that could be considered uncommon in Piltover, such as a jade tea set and the distinct smell of an incense stick burning on the table.

"Smells really good, what's it called?" he asked as he made his way to the table sitting on the floor.

"Its... Dragon's blood, one of the most requested scents on Ionia" she ended and took a seat in front of him across the table.

"Wow, so you also hunt dragons?! No wonder you are good with your blades"

"Of course not, there's no such thing as dragons that's just a …" she stopped when she noticed Dom covering her face clearly holding back his laughter. "You are making fun of me!" she exclaimed pointing at him.

"Meee? I would never do something like that" Dom stated while he kept silently laughing. "So, what other scents are in Ionia, what could you find there and not anywhere else?" Dom asked as they both started talking about their respective cities for a while.

Three hours had passed as both enjoyed each other's company prepared tea and shared stories about themselves.

"Then after all that, I had to do 1000 push-ups for a week as punishment for disobeying his instructions".

"Your father seems rather strict, and why is he blue and you are not?" Irelia questioned without a thought but regretted it when Dom's smile fell from his face. "Sorry if that was insensitive, it wasn't my intention" she added in hopes of mending the damage as Dom smiled sweetly and shook his head.

"It's fine, that's long in the past, to be honest he's not my real dad, I've known forever since he denies it whenever he has the chance, to be honest I never met my parents, I was found by Ryze alone in the battlefield. He then took it upon himself to raise and teach me to fight, although I would have loved to at least remember their faces.

Irelia was stunned at the sudden declaration, he took the chance to open his heart to her, and she unconsciously followed through "I'm sorry about that, I never knew, I had mine until I was sixteen so I can't imagine what is like to never meet them".

"It was hard for some time, I admit, but, even though I never met them, I attribute who I am to their sole existence" Dom said and as he saw the questioning look on Irelia he continued. "For as long as I can remember I've tried to act and think as I imagine how they would've raised me. It keeps me going on the right path, believing I'm the person they would like me to be has helped me a lot through every tough spot". Finishing that sentence, he took a quick look at her companion as a tear ran over her cheek. "Ahhh… sorry to bring up something like that"

"It's ok I understand that feeling" Irelia calmly stated as she hugged her knees to her chest. "My parents taught me and my sisters everything about honor, discipline, and effort. I strive every day to maintain that image, to make them proud with every decision, that way I can remember them smiling and not…" she was careless by allowing that image to sweep into her mind again, the bodies of her family laying dead in front of the garden, an image capable of destroying her in a second, tears started to flow, sliding across her cheeks, she hid her face between her legs trying to maintain steady breaths, then suddenly, warmth.

A sensation so strange to her, but welcomed at that moment, for a second she was alone suffering and the next an arm was covering her back and a caring hand was running its fingers through her hair, and her head resting on his shoulder. The shock was enough to stop the flow of tears, and she breathed deeply letting her head to fall completely on his shoulder, her mind slowly returning to a calm state.

They stood there, in that position for some time, Dom calmly stroking her head and Irelia breathing, until Dom spoke again. "To be honest I came to see if you were fine, you seemed a little bit lost today, and I was worried something might have happened. I mean, you weren't even smiling during combat and to be honest it was quite easy to beat you" Dom ended with a soft laugh as Irelia threw a light punch on his stomach.

"I was just giving you a chance to win, given that you rarely can" she ended separating herself from him with a light smile. "Thank you, I'll be fine now, you don't need to worry" she continued, taking deep breaths with her eyes closed.

"Well, I mean of course I'll worry, you can't stop that, but if you say you are fine, I'll believe you" Dom said returning to his previous spot on the table.

There was a hint on that sentence, she knew that, she opened her eyes and felt the familiar sensation of heat return to her cheeks, it got more intense the moment she saw his face having the same color and his eyes darting away from hers.

"Why do you worry so much about me?" she asked and quickly understood the possible meaning of what she had asked, her heart skipped a beat when Dom's face got redder. It wasn't that she regretted asking, she thought for a second that she could have chosen her words better, but everything came to a halt when Dom spoke.

"W-well for some time… I've been… I mean I want you to be happy and…"

This was it?! Does he feel the same for me? He wants me to be happy?! Then.

 ** _*Tremble* *Tremble* *Tremble* *Tremble*_**

All previous details about their conversations were halted as a massive earthquake began to shake the entirety of the room.


	9. You are my fight

**_*Tremble* *Tremble* *Tremble* *Tremble*_**

The earth shook and then resided as both of them were quite surprised by the sudden event.

"What in the world" Dom said as suddenly.

 ** _*BOOM*_**

 ** _*GROWL*_**

Then a growl of what seemed to be a beast sounded in the distance they looked through the window and saw on the horizon that the neighbor town was on fire, and illuminating the night sky.

"Come on we have to meet the others" Irelia said as Dom nodded and both made their way out of her room.

* * *

 ** _Outside the institute_**

Everyone seemed to have the same mentality as Irelia, as everyone on the institute had gone outside to see how flames from the town had only increased and the same growl could be heard at the distance. Everyone was also quite angry as carriages to the town was halted by orders of the institute's top summoners.

"Do you see something Cait?" Dom asked, he and Irelia had now reunited with the rest of the group on top of one of the institute's walls.

"It's too dark outside, can't see much… Wait! There's …" At that, she stood quiet taking in whatever was happening at the other side of her scope.

"There's what?!" Jayce pressed on expecting an answer.

"I don't know!" She yelled as she started running towards the summoners in charge. "Something is coming, and they are a lot we must prepare for the attack!" she yelled as everyone from the front entrance to the high walls listened.

At that and thanks to years of experience warriors, creatures and summoners alike started to arrange their positions, with those who had ranged projectiles taking the high wall of the castle-like structure and those with melee range on the bottom.

* * *

 ** _Dom´s POV_**

There was tension in the air as Dom was now on the front yard looking at the now closed wall awaiting to hear any news from the ones that were looking on top. Beside him was Irelia and Vi both of which seemed to be on their guard and Karma behind them, chanting or praying he couldn´t distinguish. The place was now full of warriors, some of which picked his interest, he could see a man taller than the rest holding two axes and a Viking helmet on his head, a man with shotgun bigger than any other he had seen smoking a cigarette. Besides them, two different giant creatures at both ends of the door, one made of solid rock who seemed to be pumping himself up by punching his chest creating a loud sound every couple of seconds, and the other one seemed to be a big tree who had some creatures, similar to giant walnuts on top of his body, his demeanor was calm but concentrated solely on the door in front of him. At this point no one on the bottom floor knew what they were facing until the top troops started shouting at the now clearly distinguishable horde massive enough for them to feel a slight tremble on their feet.

"What is that?!" someone on top of the wall screamed as one of the summoners answered quickly.

"It's the void! Everyone attack, stop them before they reach the institute!"

Everyone began shooting the enemy as Dom could see Caitlyn beginning to fire repeatedly and Jayce was launching long-range energy blasts from his position. Archers and summoners began to unload a hail of arrows and magic blasts at the still mysterious enemy. A sense of anxiety ran among the crowd, the noise from the supposed army was nearing their position, until they crashed against the entrance moving the doors with a tremendous force but not breaking through. Growls of different animals could be heard on the other side as all warriors prepared their weapons.

"They are climbing the walls! There are too many!" Dom heard Caitlyn scream to the summoner on her side. "If we don't open the doors will be overrun" she screamed while still shooting below the wall.

"Everyone prepare yourselves, we have to open the door!" shouted the summoner before continuing to launch his attacks against the creatures.

Dom was beginning to feel anxious at hearing those words, he knew this wasn't a simulation and that a real enemy was outside ready to enter. That feeling lasted only a moment for when he turned his head towards the Blade warrior, only saw determination, eyes with fire in them as she breathed calmly. He smiled at the sight catching the attention of Irelia who only looked at him, they both concentrated for a few seconds on each other's presence, Dom reached his hand towards her's meeting her hand halfway.

"I'll watch your back" he said squeezing her hand.

"And I'll have yours"

At that moment the lock on the door fell and they both got their guard up, ready to face whatever was in front of them.

* * *

 _ **Institute of war, night of the attack**_

The door opened with a tremendous force, as the seemingly numerous creatures beggan flooding the courtyard. Hesitation wasn't on their minds as just a quick look at the creatures gave them enough information about what they were dealing with; purple like monsters, all identical, rushed through the gates, running up on their hind legs which seemed to be much more powerful than those up front which were short with a set of three claws, seemingly to just slash not much as for grabbing, since they were also much shorter and thin. Their mouth seemed to be their main weapon, as a big and powerful jaw with serrated mandibles seemed to be their preferred weapon.

"Everyone attack!" shouted one of the warriors as the two hordes clashed against each other in a flurry of pained screams and growls.

The two giants up front seemed to be doing a fine job absorbing most of the wave, lessening the amount of creatures that came rushing giving the warriors enough time to dispatch and focus monsters as soon as they entered in range.

Adrenaline was rushing through Dom, as foe after foe reached him only for them to be slashed again and again in what seemed an endless barrage, to his side he was constantly keeping an eye out for Irelia who seemed to be handling well the wave, killing more monsters than the rest thanks to the amount of blades she controlled.

"Take this!" sounded on his side as later the unmistakable explosion of Vi's gauntlets echoed through the institute, Dom could also hear Jayce's and Caitlyn's weapons more often than not, as they crashed or shoot, against their enemies.

The fight continued for two hours, Dom could see that their forces were slowly diminishing, bodies of warriors were beginning to pile up around the now mass of dead monsters on the floor. Suddenly as they kept focusing on defending, the earth began to tremble slightly, and a familiar growl was heard once again.

"Everyone! Watch out!" sounded before it was too late as with no warning a sudden monster with a crab-like appearance busted through the gate and knocked the giant tree defending everyone from being overrun.

A pained scream escaped their ally as now the horde began to surround its body now unable to defend himself. Dom took just two second to realize what was going to happen next as the influx of monsters that were passing most likely was going to be too much for them to handle. His body moved automatically jumping in front of everyone to the side of the tree, grabbing his sword with both hands and pointing straight to the space now unguarded, his hairline began to glow more intensely as a continuous flow of electricity began emerging in a straight line destroying and melting all monsters that were coming from the gate.

Dom stood there releasing his energy, he knew that there was no way they all were going to survive if they got overrun, he had to hold but that meant that he couldn't move. He could only watch holding his breath, some creatures started a charge for him from the side, one of them jumping ready to rip his head. Dom closed his eyes waiting for his fate when he suddenly felt energy around him, and saw the creature hitting an energy wall that now surrounded him.

"We'll cover you!" shouted Karma just a few steps behind him, as Vi also appeared to his side punching one of the creatures and destroying those behind it in the process.

Dom heard a powerful scream as the viking seemingly out of pure determination began to charge and demolish everything in his path without pause.

He was maintaining a steady flow of his power and clearing enough of the horde as they tried to cross the door. Then suddenly the growl, they all heard through the night rose again, now much closer to the door than everyone ever thought. Visible now by everyone thanks to the light from the magic casters everyone saw a gigantic purple creature. Looking like an armored tank and hosting a giant head with something akin of a dome lying on the top of its structure.

Dom stood there, looking, a shiver then ran through his spine when the purple giant began charging towards him, seemingly ignoring everything launched at him, such as spells like Karmas rooting magic, arrows, and Caitlyn's shots, but something he couldn`t hide was his surprise as a single woman and eight blades charged towards the beast without hesitation. Sensing the sudden approach of the enemy, the monster quickly swept the floor with one of its enormous claws, hitting only dirt and some of the lesser creatures in the process as Irelia jumped just in time to land on his claw delivering a devastating attack to its joint where his armor was weaker, causing the creature to scream in pain and bend one of its legs to the ground. Not taking a chance to let the creature recover Irelia moved swiftly around the monster for an opening to attack and target week points she could find, striking in the process more and more joints of the monster, as she jumped, slid and evaded the attacks of the screaming creature.

Everything seemed under control until suddenly the monster opened what seemed to be a big eye on the top of its head, which in turn seemed to give him a superior awareness of its surroundings, suddenly doing half a spin of his body and delivering a full blow to Irelia as she and most of her blades flew a few meters through the air landing in front of Dom.

"Irelia!" he screamed as her friend was trying to stand up, many creatures were already setting their sights on her. _"She is going to die"_ Dom said to himself, still preventing the advances of a horde. He had to take a decision, and there was no doubt of his choice.

* * *

 _ **Irelia's POV**_

Everything was blurry for a moment, she tried, really tried and knew she had to stand up, but her legs were not responding and her world was spinning. _"I have to cover him"_ she repeated herself, her blades failing for a moment to obey her commands, that strike left her almost unconscious, she was on her knees, a sudden growl of a monster jumping in front of her made her stumble backward landing on her back, for a creatures mandibles were already closing to her body. She didn't closed her eyes, she just watched with a knot on her throat formed and her chest rose rapidly as if this would be the last time she would breathe.

A flash of light was all she saw for a split second before the beast exploded in two just in time to miss her, she looked up and saw how Dom appeared to be screaming something to her but sound still refused to reach her ears strength was just starting to return to her body.

"...lia!, Irelia!, Come on Irelia wake up, there's too many of them!" she heard Dom shout as he slashed the monsters coming for them, the armored creature that despite heavy injuries was still advancing towards them. Forcing herself to her feet, with determination in her eyes her blades obeyed her command and positioned to her side, proceeding to help Dom with the horde that was suddenly multiplying.

"There's too many of them!" he shouted as they both began to walk back.

There were being outnumbered, she knew that, once they seemed to have a chance of containing them, now their side of the gate had been breached and if the rock giant, failed to contain his, everyone would soon be overrun. Desperation began creeping up to everyone, then they heard a few and squeaky war cries when suddenly an army of twenty of the little creatures that were on the tree's body advanced with war cries towards the gate, not stopping even by being surrounded and bitten repeatedly. Suddenly to the surprise of everyone the creatures began imploding with such a force that large areas previously full of mosnters were now nothing more than purple goo on the floor.

"I'll hold them off" spoke the still injured tree with a deep sounding voice as he stepped forward and began to unleash its roots towards the enemies.

This was the chance they needed, now both her and Dom could focus on the armored tank in front of them. They didn't need to say anything, a simple nod was enough for them to run-up toward the beast. They both flowed with perfect synchrony, Dom advanced first drawing the creature's attention and attacks as she was making count the distraction by attacking each and every time she could one of its weak points but still failing to bring down the beast.

"Irelia up top!" Dom shouted, as this made her realize that the eye was still open, a weak point, somewhere she could do real damage. "I'll lift you up!" he screamed one more time as she nodded.

They tried a few times to find a window to attack but the monster seemed to be far too conscious of their movements and was reacting with speed far superior to what they had anticipated.

"We need another plan!" Irelia shouted as the both still circled and evade the monster's attacks.

"We don't have time!" Dom shouted as he continued "I'll take the hit, but you gotta be quick!"

"What, no!" She shouted as her blades continued to cut the monster seemingly without effect.

"There's no time! I can take it just trust me!" Dom demanded

She didn't want it, the sole idea of what was going to happen made her stomach turn, but she had to trust him, there was no more she could think of, so she just nodded to him, willing to take his plan in action.

"Ok, be ready, there's just one shot" Dom said as they neared each other.

Time seemed to pass a little slower as the ran to face each other finishing circling the monster. Irelia saw past Dom how the monster was beginning to sweep his arm aiming for him, she was beginning to hesitate as a sudden shout brought her back to reality.

"Irelia!" he screamed as his eyes met hers, giving nothing more than determination and confidence, all that she needed to make her continue towards his open hands and vaulting over them as with all his might he managed to launch her high up in the air before turning to withstand the blow that knocked him to the air with enough force to push him out 10 meters.

For a second all she saw were the stars above, all her blades began to circle her with increasing speed, she heard the impact of the monster against Dom, but knew her focus should be fixed on this one attack. She flipped in the air and saw her target, a big and yellow eye now focusing on her, watching, for a split second later and with all of her might and a powerful shout she launched all of her blades towards the eye. Not only did the eye exploded but her blades managed to cut greatly inside the monster's top, a gushing fountain was now spitting blood with great intensity, but was apparently not enough yet, the monster was using all its remaining strength to flail it's arms around.

" _This was not what was supposed to happen!"_ screamed Irelia internally as rage filled her veins and mind for this monster will not go down, but just as she was preparing to continue the attack she heard a loud banging noise to her side and found that the rock giant was looking straight to the monster as his whole body began lighting up as if magma was flowing through his insides. Suddenly it started running stomping every small monster in its path, as at one moment it suddenly crouched and then released all its stored energy with a blast.

"SMASH!" the rock giant screamed as he crashed at the monster driving him with incredible force and squashing him against one of the walls besides the gate ending for good its movement and extinguishing its life.

Irelia quickly left the scene, the giant began to focus again on the horde advancing, Irelia ran quickly towards Dom, he was still trying to lift himself off the ground after the impact.

"Are you ok?" she asked as she reached one hand towards his arm while keeping watch of a monster was coming for them.

"It's going to leave a bruise I think" he said while a small smile crept on his face inducing the same response on her.

"Everyone!" suddenly a voice shouted from the top of the wall. "The wave is ending these are the last ones! Just a little more!" shouted the lead summoner of the institute while still focusing on the wave outside the institute.

"Hear that? Let's finish this" Dom said one more time as she nodded and proceeded to follow him towards the creatures.

* * *

 _ **Morning after the attack, the institute**_

They didn't sleep through the whole night, everyone that was available kept helping others to move and pile up the bodies of both fallen warriors and monsters by seven in the morning when finally the group was able to sit down and have something to eat.

"This was supposed to be our vacation" Vi lamented as she chewed on an apple.

Everyone was quiet and still quite alarmed about what happened last, night both Jayce and Vi were working on their weapons as they suffered considerable damage, Caitlyn was constantly trying to establish connection to Heimerdinger on Piltover and Karma was calmly meditating.

Dom and Irelia were seemingly enjoying their time together as they shared their food.

"Hey! That was my last grape!" she exclaimed as she punched his side with a playful grin on her face.

"Ha! It's your fault you didn't stop me, and I thought you were fast" he teased her as a smile crept on his face.

Ohhh that smile did it for her, she always considered herself calm but something about him managed to bring out her playful side, and of course she hated to lose, so in an instant she leaned over to his plate and grabbed his hard-boiled egg and stuffed it to her mouth.

"HEY! How is that fair?! I thought you were going to take a slice of orange, not that!" Dom said in quite a raised tone giving her all the more satisfaction as she smiled triumphantly with her mouth still full

"That #$%& you geht #$% St$ing my food" she said with her mouth full, as now eating the whole thing was proving to be quite difficult something Dom noticed and quickly took away her cup of water gulping it one go.

"I see… well I really hope you can enjoy it" he smiled at the frowning girl on her side.

"Assh#$e" was what came out of her mouth as she kept chewing over the laughing of Dom for the cute display.

"Okay here" Dom told her with a smile as he gave her his cup of water which she drank helping her to finish swallowing.

"Thank you, I hope you had reconsidered your actions" Irelia said, smiling towards him.

All of their actions were suddenly interrupted when Caitlyn's transmitter finally picked up the signal as Heimerdinger's voice rang in all of their ears.

"Sherriff you choose the worst time to leave the city!" the yordle exclaimed effusively. "Think about what would have happened if you hadn't put me in charge!"

Caitlyn had a bad feeling about what the scientist explained as she soon demanded, "Heimer give a full status"

"We were attacked by the void" at that sentence everyone got on their feet and approached the transmitter to hear better. "We managed to fend them off by rerouting the city's plumbing and flushing the creatures together and electrifying them using the power central … we also had a lot of help thanks to a sudden barrage of countless missiles that decimated the creatures from the hole they were emerging" at this Caitlyn and Vi turned sour but nonetheless kept in silence as the yordle continued. "That's not all I have bad news, the whole runeterra might be getting into a war with the void. My earthquake sensors had picked signals of tremors all across the land to the east and west, Demacia, Noxus, and Freiljord have now acknowledged they've been attacked and I have readings suggesting Shurima and Targon have suffered the same, it was a coordinated attack, we have confirmation that Bilgewater has been completely destroyed and the mass of monsters is making her way towards Ionia, probably in tunnels below the surface of the sea as my readings suggest"

Dom was quick to notice the surprise and fear that showed in Irelia's face, he was quick to react "Ionia is still safe?" he asked getting Karma and Irelia's attention to the information that was to come.

"Yes my readings show that there hasn't been movement on their area, I suppose thanks to its isolation and strong water currents they were not able to reach there underground, but the last of my reading show they are somehow making their way underwater as if they were digging their way there" the yordle finished and was quickly asked another vital question.

"How much until they get there?" Dom asked again.

"At their current rate, they will probably arrive by night six days from now" he spoke, Irelia and Karma looked at each other soaking in the information. "Dominick" Heimerdinger suddenly spoke again much softer than before, he almost never called him by his name, something that got Dom by surprise and began to make him feel anxious. "We had to fend off the monsters for our plan to work, it took a lot of our men, Ryze is gravely injured"

At that his world began to crumble, his chest hurt "Is he alive?"

"I believe so, but he's in serious condition" Heimerdinger said, Dom backed off the transmitter, Caitlyn took charge again of the situation, Vi and Jayce stood beside Dom trying to ease his mind with their presence. This day was going to be awful for everyone.

* * *

 _ **Same day, Afternoon**_

Getting the shock of the news behind, each group had now made plans to travel towards their respecting homes both were able to get aircrafts fast enough to reach their destinations. All that was left was saying goodbye, a task proving to be very painful for the two young warriors, for they stood in silence looking at each other until dom took her hand and placed a device on her palm.

"This is… a long-distance transmitter, you turn it on here and when the light is green we'll be able to speak with each other" Dom said giving her a gentle squeeze.

Irelia took a moment to watch the device before turning to see Dom "Thank you" was all she got out with a broken voice. Her heart ached, she knew as well as him that right now was probably their last time seeing each other, there was no telling of what was going to happen.

"Dom, we need to go" Caitlyn urged Dom from aboard the ship.

Those words reached his ears, his chest filled with sorrow, he didn't know what to do, he couldn't think of anything to say, emotions filled his senses, and decided that if this was it at least he was going to tell her what he felt, so in one swift motion he took her in a strong embrace.

"It… hurts so much" he said to her with sorrow in his face and a jarred breath.

She wanted to scream, to cry, her legs were giving up on her, but it was so long since she decided to forget this emotions that no words or expressions were able to reach her throat. She decided then to give into her impulse and hugged Dom equally strong, just hugging him without a sound, resting her head in the crook of his neck.

"Stay strong ok? I'll see you again, we'll meet again" he said as Caitlyn once again called him.

"That's a promise, we'll see each other again" she said as Dom took one final look at her eyes, still holding her on his arms and nodded before letting go and climbing on top of the airship waving her goodbye as the craft left towards the sky.

Karma was quick to reach Irelia she was still focusing on the air. "Our ship is ready" she said and hated herself for doing this but they had their own mission, to warn and prepare Ionia for battle, there was no time to hesitate, they will need all their willpower to face the upcoming danger.

With one final inhale she took her eyes out of the sky and turned around, she had to be strong and ignoring the crushing pain in her chest, strode with determination. "We have to be ready" were her final words as the both boarded their ship.


	10. My light will shine

**_Next Day / Piltover_**

The trip back wasn't an easy one for Dom, there were many thoughts going through his head right now, various attempts were made by Jayce, Vi and Cait trying to convince him to leave the lower deck for a bit, only to be rejected. His mind was going so fast at the moment, past and future were mixing themselves as a barrage of thoughts bombarded him constantly, ¿What's going to happen? ¿Will his father survive? ¿Will he see Irelia again? Each and every second hurt as fear assaulted his mind without mercy, his chest felt heavy, and anxiety filled his whole body.

* ** _Knock_**

"Dom we are about to reach the city, can you come out?" asked Caitlyn in a soft tone.

He didn't want to, not yet at least, but he had to be strong, no matter how much he doesn't want this day to continue he has to be ready. He smiled at that remark, something he admired about Irelia, was her disposition to face anything with a brave front, so he had to do the same, it's no longer about him, he must be strong for everyone, for her.

"Yes, I'll be out in a moment" he said prompting Caitlyn to leave the door.

With a bit of hesitation, he opened the door and began taking slow and steady steps climbing up to the main deck. He still didn't dare to step close to the edge but felt more comfortable than before leaning against a support pillar on the center, be it that he was conquering his fears or there was something heavier on his mind, he didn't know or really care, as the city began to show itself on the horizon.

There was a sense of dread in the ship, not even Vi was acting like herself, everything was silent, the crew was expectant to survey and check the damage the city had suffered, at their current distance it didn't seem as bad, some craters and explosion marks showed themselves on the neighboring mountains. Dom saw from his position how Vi and Cait were scouting the area with binoculars, talking and examining every single detail they could see, making him nervous as to what the extent of damage could have been, something that apparently showed in his face as the next thing he felt was Jayce's hand on his shoulder.

"Relax Dom, the damage is not that great, the city is safe" he commented in an attempt to brighten his mood. Dom simply nodded and continued to look to the distance. "It's not about the city is it?" Jayce inquired with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

"I… I don't know Jayce" Dom said in a pained voice as he tried to look at his eyes. "Sometimes it feels like it's too much, I don't know what I should do, what's going to happen?" Dom ended his sentence as if demanding an answer from the inventor.

Jayce thought for a moment, about what to say, he was older, yes, but even he with his knowledge and intelligence could not predict the future, "I don't know what is going to happen" he stated, Dom casting his eyes on the ground, "but… it doesn't matter at all" suddenly at this remark Jayce regained all the attention of the lightning warrior as he continued. "I know for a fact that the future's not set in stone, every single one of us is in charge of changing its course. Just look at me, will I be here if I hadn't fought my way up? I am here because I believe, I believe that technology is capable of helping every one of us, that someday we will all be able to enjoy our lives to the fullest, at peace. I believe therefore I conquer, it wasn't that I was intelligent, it wasn't that I had the resources, what brought me here was the decision to pursue my belief, my dream, and forge it every way I could come up with, with everything that I am, because it's the future that I want for myself and for others." Finishing his speech Jayce felt lighter, all these years he had fought to maintain that which he deemed true and could now see a bit of clarity in Dom's eyes, which made him feel oddly satisfied.

"Thanks Jayce" Dom followed as now those words were engraved in his mind.

"No problem kid" he added patting Dom's back a few times. "Stay strong ok?"

"I will, thanks again" Dom said, Jayce nodded and proceeded towards the two officers in front of the ship.

Finally, a bit of fresh air he thought, for the first time this whole day he regained the ability to calm his nerves letting the intense ache in his chest retreat for a bit. He stood there calmly looking at the approaching city until a question popped into his head, one that will not leave him no matter how hard he tried. " _What do I want for my future?"_

* * *

Upon arriving everyone went to check the status with Heimerdinger, everyone except Dom, as he went to the hospital. The city was still recovering from the previous fight so deciding that waiting for transport was going to take some time, he started began running towards the hospital. His run was a welcoming change for his mind, not focusing in anything but a destination allowed him to calm before entering the building and asking for the room where Ryze was being kept.

"Room 307" said the receptionist letting Dom continue towards the room.

Once he opened the door things seemed to be rather calm, he could see Ryze in bed breathing quite heavily, a great number of bandages were covering his torso and abdomen as his face also supported a cut on the left of his forehead. Mixed emotions ran through him the moment he saw him, sadness, worry, fear, but they all dissipated when Ryze opened his eyes and looked at him. Never had Dom seen him so badly injured but for some strange reason, he calmly proceeded to sit by his side, action that seemed just right at the moment, silence reigned until he decided to speak.

"You look tired" Dom said casually not even looking at him but hinting a playful tone.

"More like bored out of my mind" the mage answered quickly, making Dom smile looking at the mage.

"Are you ok? I mean I thought that…" Dom continued in a weak tone before the mage interrupted him.

"I'm fine…. Everyone… tends to overreact when suddenly a beast… opens you up a little" Ryze said between breaths making clear talking was difficult, but Dom could identify a certain mocking tone which made him feel more secure about his wellbeing. "Also… don't forget that I'm stronger than you" he was now smiling something that rarely occurred.

"Ha, as if, I think that hit on your head really messed up something" Dom said as he laughed now a bit more comfortable.

"Well enough of that… now that you are here, I want to hear about your stay at the institute"

Dom proceeded to talk for two hours detailing as much as he could to Ryze who listened very attentive to his adventures, how he managed to become even faster and stronger thanks to a girl that could wield eight blades, how they managed to withstand the barrage of enemies just like in Piltover. After Dom was done speaking Ryze took a moment of silence to sink everything in, Dom could see on his face, concentration and a bit of annoyance which made him think that maybe he said something out of the line.

"Help me sit up" the mage demanded as Dom obliged and began to move him so he could be adequately supported. "Caitlyn showed me an image a while ago, it was you with a girl, I'm guessing she is the warrior that you mentioned was with you all this time".

As Ryze spoke about her Dom could not avoid feeling his heart pound hard against his chest as he exhaled deeply "Yes, she is" he said in a melancholic way as his eyes darted to the floor.

"Tell me about her" the mage added as he looked at Dom.

"Well, what do you want to know?" Dom asked a bit perplexed at Ryze sudden interest.

Ryze exhaled as he looked to Dom, "Look Dom, this is important, I don't want to know anything specific… I want you to tell me how was the time you had with her, through your eyes I think it's important, so I want you to refrain from looking for a reason and just let your mind speak without thinking".

Dom took his words as an order, never had he doubted Ryze and today was not the day, so he began talking, as the mage instructed.

"I remember when I first met her, hehe, I kind of acted out a little bit rude towards her" Dom remembered how he had ignored her presence at that time. "I know that I couldn't stop looking at her smiling through the whole battle, it really was cute, not to mention that after we left the arena, she looked even more stunning" Dom was smiling now, as Ryze nodded at him to continue. "The first weeks were just amazing, it's hard for me to say, but I couldn't manage to beat her for at least a week, she was that awesome" he said now visibly excited.

"Where was the image taken?" Ryze asked so he could continue.

"We went to a festival, with Jayce and a companion of her's called Karma, it was honestly almost a perfect day".

"Almost?" Ryze said as Dom scratched his cheek.

"Well there was this guy who started calling me and here some really nasty things, I got really angry and emmm broke his nose, sorry". Dom apologized immediately knowing well that Ryze had always taught him to only use his powers towards good, teaching that without a doubt he broke that day.

"Never before has some words really affected you" said Ryze asking for an answer.

"It wasn't towards me, he insulted her, and my blood started to boil, I couldn't think straight".

"Indeed, you couldn't, so what else?" Ryze urged him to continue.

"Well after the festival, we were almost all of the next days together, be it training, eating, or talking, she got along fine with Cait and Vi, just before the void attacked" Dom ended at a low tone making Ryze a bit worried about the outcome.

"Did she survive?"

"Yes, she is fine, was with me the whole time, we even took out a giant monster" Dom smiled.

"So, what's it that has you so… sad" Ryze asked knowing well something was up.

Dom's eyes never left the floor as he thought about what to say. "We found out that… the void it's making its way to Ionia, they should be preparing to face them" Dom dreaded what was coming, it was clear that fear coursed through his veins as his hands were now clutched into tight fists.

All Dom heard the next instant was a grunt coming from the mage on his side, as then the back of his palm crashed against his nose with all the strength the mage could muster given his limited movement, but it was enough to make him look at him with perplexed eyes.

"You are an idiot" Ryze said with a serious look, looking at the now confused Dom.

"What? Why?" Dom raised his voice being more confused than angry at the current situation.

"Why are you here? Tell me, what made you come back?" Ryze demanded in a strong tone.

"The city was attacked! You were injured! Of course, I had to come back, it's my job to protect the city!"

"ENOUGH OF THAT!" Ryze shouted as he ignored the pain coursing through his body. "You knew that the city was safe, you knew that I would survive. Why are you here?" Dom was at a loss for words as nothing came out of his gaping mouth. Eyes darting everywhere as he tried his best to come up with an answer that never came. Ryze noticing this relaxed a bit his posture and eased into the bed as his long exhale was the only sound that filled the room.

"Tell me then, why you look and sound so miserable?" Ryze spoke again looking at Dom not with anger but with something akin to empathy in its eyes.

"I don't… I… am afraid" Dom said with pain in his eyes.

"I can see that, and you know well of what you are afraid. You know that you are going to lose something really important".

Dom knew what he meant, he always knew it, ever since leaving the institute his transmitter had been on, he waited anxiously for something to come out of the machine.

"Since you were little, I tried my best to teach you the values and morals of justice and honesty, I think I did a pretty good job, too good of a job sadly" Ryze had now a frown on his face as sadness enveloped him. "You grew up to become someone who will always help others, it didn't matter if they asked for it or not, it's in you to help them because you believe that is right to be there and comfort everyone with your presence." Dom listened quietly as Ryze looked at him intently. "My boy, you have become that which we all need, but in doing so you have neglected your own will. I sended you to the institute in hopes that you would understand that you have the power to decide and choose for yourself what makes you happy, to create a desire for your needs, not those around you". Finishing that sentence was harder for him that he would have ever anticipated, Dom's eyes shined as Ryze could see he was on the verge of breaking. He then reached his hand closest to him grabbing the nape of his neck and giving it a tight squeeze. "It's time for you to make a choice, for yourself, I see you have been holding a transmitter, does she have one?"

"Yes, she has one, but there's been no answer yet" Dom said with a broken voice.

"Good, you need to speak with her, but from the heart, not from the mind" the mage added as Dom nodded in agreement. "I may have been rough Dom, but I want you to know, I am proud of the man you've become" Ryze said still holding his neck. "So I'll ask of you to start choosing for your happiness and come back in front of me when you have accomplished it. Will you help me with that?" he ended smiling at Dom, as now tears were rolling down his face.

"Yes… I think... I can help you with that" he said between sobs as the hand of his father never left his head until it was time to say goodbye.

* * *

 ** _Night / Next Day / Dom's POV_**

Dom stayed up the night waiting for the signal on his transmitter, but to no avail, he asked Vi and Caitlyn for some time, he needed to be alone, they, of course, agreed. He waited all day on top of a hill hoping that maybe a signal would be able to reach him. It was almost midnight, he paced anxiously in the tiny space, waiting, hoping, wishing for her to reach out, thoughts raced through his mind saying that maybe it was too late, but he always fought it he had to believe. Until suddenly static began to be heard on the device, prompting Dom to scream at it.

"Irelia, is it you there? Can you hear me?" Silence, reigned for a few seconds, making Dom think that what he heard was an illusion until an answer came through.

"Yes I can hear you" escaped from the transmitter, making Dom almost jump from happiness.

"I missed you so much" Dom said without hesitation, he promised himself he would speak from his heart, and damn right he was going to do it.

"I've missed you too. Everything is chaos here" she said softly making Dom a bit nervous.

"Tell me what's happening, please" he demanded as silence reigned until Irelia spoke again.

"We send a search party down the volcano yesterday, they didn't come back", she said in a sad tone. "We don't have enough ships or anywhere to evacuate so we are preparing everyone who can handle a weapon as fast as we can".

Dom was left speechless his heart pounded hard in his chest as Irelia stopped talking. "I need to know" he exhaled, as then continued "Tell me the truth, how are you?" It was such a stupid question to ask, he knew that, but he somehow knew she would understand him.

"I'm scared Dom! Everyone is scared! This is not fair, I don't want this to happen!" she screamed now, Dom knew she was crying nothing has ever felt this wrong in his entire life, his whole being was now consumed by a sadness so great that he could barely breathe. "I… I must be strong… I have to save them… I have to be prepared…" she finished breathing through sobs, as if she knew she had to calm herself.

"I made a terrible mistake" Dom said as he was now on his knees. "I should be there, not here" he added absentmindedly as he could only hear Irelia's breath on the transmitter.

"That time in the institute, was the happiest of my life, I made some amazing memories, I made new friends, I met you" she was crying again, "Thank you for everything, I will keep you close at all times" she said as she began to calm herself again. Dom then could hear distorted noises on the transmitter. "I have to go I was supposed to take a quick break"

"Wait Irelia, don't go" he pleaded not knowing what to say.

"I have to be ready Dom, I won't turn it up again until everything is over. Thank you and goodbye" was the last he heard as suddenly the communication ended.

"Wait Irelia!" Dom began to furiously slam his fist to the ground, as he screamed to his heart's content for a couple of minutes finally succumbing flat on the ground still holding the device tightly.

He was angry, sad, fearful, as his eyes began closing. Then a simple phrase came to his head making him open his eyes and stand to his feet, " _What do I want for my future?"_ He knew, and truth be told he was going to pursue what he wanted, no matter what stood in front of him, he began to run as fast as he could with a face full of determination.

* * *

 ** _Piltover / Caitlyn's Office_**

Caitlyn was going on through the information Heimerdinger had compiled, things were not that bad, the genius yordle was able to minimize damage to the city and now had a plan and complete control to repel any further attacks of the monsters thanks to the city's position.

"You should calm yourself, breathe a little cupcake, we are safe right now you should rest"

"We are safe thanks to others, we should be prepared for whatever happens next" Caitlyn said as she continued to examine the plans.

"You've barely slept come on just take a cup of tea and close your eyes for a while" Vi suggested

"Ok, fine" Caitlyn agreed as she approached Vi and sat across the sofa she laid on, Vi was now playing with a device Jayce had made. "What are you doing?" she inquired as she sank a bit more on the sofa.

"Jayce told me this thing not only takes a pictures but a sequence of them, something like that, I'm trying to figure out how to do it" Vi explained as just as she finished, she grinned and pushed a button. "I think it's on, hey Cait say something funny"

"I'm not in the mood Vi" she said quite annoyed until a sudden noise brought her attention towards the entrance of her office.

There was Dom standing and panting as sweat covered his face and body, just before any of the two girls could ask what was happening, he got to his knees and laid his forehead on the floor.

"PLEASE, HELP ME"


	11. Upon you my love

**_Ionia / Irelia's POV_**

She could not control them, they rolled through her cheeks, she had her back on a tree, clutching the transmitter to her chest, trying desperately to regain her composure. She couldn't remember ever feeling as sad and empty, she could hear some soldiers calling her, but couldn't manage to speak as emotions flooded her, thankfully a familiar voice rang through the crowd.

"Everyone back to your positions, the general needs some space" Karma shouted as now Irelia could hear everyone retreating.

Calm steps were approaching her position, she hid her face between her legs not wanting to show her current state, failing at any attempt to control herself. She could sense how a presence stood beside her for a second, soon after, Karma was on her side with a surprisingly strong grip and a kiss on her head. At that moment everything broke, all this years of having to be brave, all this years of bottling emotions, all her life needing to be strong for others vanished as a pained scream escaped her mouth and tears rolled themselves to Karma's shirt, who continued to hug her tightly, and will continue to do so for as long as she needed it.

Seconds came, then minutes, tears and shouts became nothing more than quiet sobs and quick breaths. She could feel Karma's hand running through her hair, her other arm was holding her close.

"It's not fair" she finally managed to say having calmed down enough to open her eyes. "I want more time to be happy, I don't want this anymore" she added, pushing her head, on Karma's shoulder.

She felt Karma stiffen a bit, staying silent, until drops of water began falling on her head, and knew her trusted friend began to cry. "I know beautiful, I know. This can be a cruel world sometimes". She began saying with a calm tone, "You really liked your time there didn't you?" Irelia lifted her head to meet her eyes and a small smile crept on her face.

"It was the best, I can't remember the last time I was that happy" Irelia said as she shifted herself to look up into the sky.

"It was amazing for me too you know, I could get used to the idea of having Jayce by my side", Karma added as a small laugh escaped her.

"Yes, I could too" she said as she held the pearl in her bracelet making it shine.

"It's not over yet, there is no reason to doubt ourselves, we are people of Ionia, we have survived everything that has ever threaten us, we will stand victorious for our people and our future". Karma said looking at Irelia. "If my ears didn't betray me you promised that you'll meet again didn't you? I never regarded you as someone to break a promise". Karma finished with a hint of a playful tone and a smile.

Irelia was smiling as she nodded in acknowledgement, finding truth in the words of her friend. "We have to be prepared, Ionia will prevail" Irelia said as now Karma was smiling.

"That's my girl" she said kissing Irelia's head.

"Thank you, for everything Karma" she said as they both stayed a while longer under that tree taking a couple more minutes to breathe and relax.

* * *

 _ **Ionia / Two days later**_

Irelia was constantly asking herself if fate could be more heartless, they've been training for the past two days and just recently finished evacuating every women, children and elder to a corner on the island. Since the evening, tremors had been a frequent occurrence, giving Irelia and the high command enough information to believe that the monsters had already reached the island, and were making their way towards the volcanic mountain to emerge. What no one could've anticipated was the intense lightning storm roaring and pouring an impressive amount of rain as all forces of Ionia stood patiently behind their commanders. For two days they erected a wall on their flanks with everything they could get their hands on, be it trees, rocks or piled dirt. at the center of all was a space where soldiers stood in lines.

Irelia stood in front of their forces, next to her, other generals and the commander of Ionia. She could see the order of ninjas, and a fox like creature. Complete blackness covered the horizon as their torches and magic spells could only illuminate a couple of meters before them, they all had to wait for lightning to flash and show the entirety of the landscape for mere seconds, thunder rumbled inside everyone's chests. No one made a sound and for a few hours everyone stood there, patiently waiting under the rain and cold, always ready to follow orders, this was their home, and they will all protect it.

It wasn't until a sudden growl was heard through the stormy night and a minor earthquake rumbled through the feet of the soldiers that something other than raindrops clashing against metal gathered everyone's attention, voices rang through the crowds of warriors preparing for what was sure to come.

Irelia began to feel nervous, her blades danced close to her announcing her readiness, then a sudden tremble was felt again under their feet Irelia knew that sensation as she had faced it before, just then a sudden flash of lightning revealed a swarm of monsters, thousands of them descending through the edge of the mountain.

"Everyone prepare!" shouted the commander of Ionia to his generals urging them to prepare the soldiers.

Irelia could see fear in the faces of those who were lined up, they were holding their weapons with both hands as their knees trembled, eyes darting from one place to another.

Sensing they were panicking she decided to speak her mind, "Warriors of Ionia, the time has come to protect our home! To protect the land that gave us life and to protect all of those who we care. Today is the day we fight for our fate and of those around us!" she screamed as loud and direct as she could, "Today we shall prevail, today we shall choose our future and that of others", she finished the last sentence sensing a now confident facade of the soldiers who her voice was able to reach, she turned her back as another lightning revealed their foes 100 meters away. She readied her blades, as a second later the commander shouted with all he had.

"Mages and archers fire!" the general commanded as hails of arrows and spells rained towards the upcoming foes diminishing their numbers as bodies began to fall far out, a second later repeating with the same strength in his voice he shouted. "FOR IONIA!" for when his shout finished the wall of monsters clashed against the army.

The first clash was gruesome, the mindless creatures with nothing more than raw muscle clashed against the soldiers. The front line managed to stay strong as lances, swords, and shields bashed against the creatures. Everyone knew their role, the monsters will most certainly continue advancing towards those who couldn't protect themselves if they left an opening on the barrier, because of that lines of several soldiers were stacked one upon another with the sole objective to stop any monsters from passing through.

Arrows flew in the stormy sky, magic spells were shot consecutively, blades and mandibles tore through flesh as the cries and growls of soldiers and beasts, were all everyone could hear. Through the incessant wave Irelia could not help to watch towards the mountain path every time a lightning gave her a chance, every time she hoped to see the wave stop, the last of what they had to face on the horizon, but to no avail as the overwhelming quantity of monsters did not recede but instead seemed to increase, contrary to her forces which with every passing minute decreasing in numbers.

Cries, screams, pleas of help echoed all around her, her chest filled with anger, nervousness, and desperation as each of her blades continued to cut through the creatures until a familiar growl petrified her on the spot. She knew what was coming as the shaking of the earth began to increase. She sliced more and more monsters until it appeared, the same monster he and Dom defeated, approaching slowly as an armored vehicle shaking earth and inflicting terror on those who could see it. There was no doubt about what its presence had inflicted on her soldiers as a quick look back revealed terror in those close to her, they were losing both mentally and physically. She had to do something, and she knew it, they would not last if hope was not on their side, they needed support and she could only think of one way to obtain it.

Hesitation never crossed her mind as she began sprinting towards the monster, cutting and making her way through the thick mass of creatures. She had decided, she was going to defeat the monster before it reached the line of soldiers, she had to show them they were powerful, and they could be victorious.

"Irelia wait!" she heard Karma scream at her back, but she never turned or acknowledge her command, her decision had been made as she readied her blades.

With all of her might she jumped towards the golem-like monster, evading his initial strike and landing in one of his arms, two blades were shot directly through the joint in his leg causing the monster to stumble on its knees, she jumped again evading another attack. She had one chance and waited for the eye to open. Calling her blades she jumped again evading another powerful bash, continuing to target the creature's weak points, until it opened. no time was wasted on her part, even though the monster was now moving faster, Irelia moved as fast as she could manage, jumped on his arm once it failed to strike her down and propelled herself to the air, leaving her directly on top of the monster's eye. Her blades launched forward with all the speed she could possibly achieve, all of them pierced through the soft membrane and wreaked havoc inside it, the monster screamed seemingly in pain and fell forward spilling the contents of his insides on the ground, Irelia landed on top of him commanding her blades to quickly return and preparing to move back.

Just as she was about to jump off the corpse a growl far louder than the one made from that one which lied on her feet froze her body and that of all Ionians. The earth began shaking and crumbling for just 10 meters before her, the ground cracked and a massive serpent-like creature raised up squashing and sending the surrounding monsters and Irelia feet off the ground and into the air, his massive frame presenting itself in front of the Ionian warriors.

She froze completely, flying through the air with her back to the ground and her eyes focused only on the creature in front of her, after a second her world shook violently, and her vision blurred, numbness spread through her body. There was no strength to lift herself up, her vision was filled with that creature, what seemed to be tentacles started to rise from the ground, its eyes focusing her, seemingly ready to launch an attack. This was the end, she repeated herself as tears rolled down her cheeks. She stopped looking at the beast and instead focused con the pearl latched onto her bracelet, rubbing it a few times to produce what she could say was the most beautiful light she had ever seen, a smile spread across her face, then looked up.

* ** _BOOM_**

A cannon shot was heard and suddenly the sky was illuminated by a flare so big and bright that the serpent like monster flinched as well as the horde of creatures, visibly perturbed by the shining light, and she saw it shining above all, her heart began racing, heat spread to her cold body, eyes now watering as she held her breath.

* * *

 ** _The sky / 30 min earlier_**

He was not afraid, there was no time for that as he stood in front of the ship, not caring about the wind, the rain or the cold.

"10 degrees to the east Cait!" he shouted as the sheriff obeyed passing the message to the other ships as the fleet now changed its course.

"How do you know where to go?!" Vi shouted under the rain and thunder, for almost two days they had followed his directions, something that led them recently through a storm.

"I can sense her!" he shouted "Keep going straight!" he commanded once more.

"How!?" Vi shouted once again now visibly annoyed.

"She… she has a part of me, I can sense where it is" he answered still looking forward, almost on the edge of the ship.

"Figueres" Vi said understanding what he said as she covered her head with both gloves.

At that a sudden squeaky voice came through the transmitter every official had on their ears. "My explosives are not meant to withstand water for long periods of time! If this keeps up, they won't work later" the eccentric yordle shouted, visibly annoyed that his stash could be ruined for nothing.

"We are almost there! Everyone prepare to descend" Dom shouted ignoring the yordle's complains.

They lowered themselves from the high clouds towards the ground, there was no telling in all this darkness where the land was, all they had was Dom's knowledge for where they had to go. The fleet descended, Dom took a step on the ship's edge rail and looked straight down. He knew they were almost there and suddenly he saw a flash of light and a complete confirmation that Irelia was down there.

"They are down there! Cait shoot the flare!" he commanded and without delay, the cannon in front of the ship exploded sending a bright light into the sky, meant to last for minutes. He then saw it, he forgot how to breathe and stared with wide eyes at the figure standing in front of Irelia's light, he could see that creatures were starting to surround that giant monster and will soon reach her.

"WHAT IS THAT!" Vi shouted as the rest of the crew of all ships watched the creature.

Cait left the wheel to one of the soldiers and approached the rail to see the monster, she starred at the scene for a couple of seconds until she saw a speck of light just in front of the massive creature.

"Wait! That's!" she exclaimed knowing well the source of the light, looking up just to find Dom, sword in hand and hair glowing. "DOM!" Cait shouted with all her might as he turned around, eyes full of light, and after a second, he jumped.

He the wind was cutting through his body, gravity made him fall faster and faster. Determination, conviction, willpower flowed through his body his sword grew in size until it reached its maximum length. He had to protect her, he had to get the future he wanted. Instincts took over he pointed his sword downwards holding it with two hands, and shouted with everything he had.

"SPEED IS MY POWER!"

"MY BODY IS MY BLADE!"

"MY WILL IS MY GUIDANCE!"

"MY LIGHT IS YOURS!"

As his last words echoed through the sky a lightning strike reached him and all its power was redirected through his blade downwards. In an instant Dom shot his body through the column of light, passing through the head of the gigantic creature blowing it up into a million pieces, creating in his landing a crater as the body of the beast fell backwards squashing hundreds of creatures. Stunning silence, and open mouths were for a couple of seconds all everyone could muster for what they had just witnessed.

Dom emerged from the crater as fast as he could and ran towards Irelia, he needed to know if she was alive, he could see that she was now trying to lift herself up with one hand but failing to do so. He looked back to see that the horde was now past the giant snake corpse, he didn't have a lot of time, upon reaching her Dom kneeled down, took her face, checked her arms and legs by squeezing them, all while Irelia's gaze never left his face. Now that he was sure she was not gravely injured, quickly picked her up and began running towards the army.

"Call your blades" he said as Irelia snapped for a second out of her trance and called them as Dom kept running.

It was such a strange sight for her as she was currently in his arms, so close to him, light still lingered in his hair and eyes. Once they got behind the barrier of soldiers he stopped, setting her on her feet, not wasting any time he got one hand on an earpiece and instructions soon followed.

"Cait go ahead! Execute the plan!" he said while looking at the sky.

"Roger" came through the ear piece as the fleet made its way towards the volcano.

Taking a chance to look at Irelia Dom dissipated the energy from his eyes and hair as he joined his forehead with hers never breaking eye contact, both being close to each other, then proceeded to cup his hands in her neck and started to stroke her cheeks with his thumbs.

"I… I'm so glad you are safe" he said as Irelia grabbed his face.

"It's really you" she said as a smile and laugh escaped thanks to the intense happiness she was feeling.

"Yes" he said now smiling again, "I promise I won't leave you alone again" he said, both of them took that sentence with seriousness, then a second later explosions began to shake the earth, the fleet began to unleash bombs upon bombs on top of the mindless creatures while they made their way forward.

Sensing now that the enemy's clashed against the frontline Dom separated from Irelia, let his hair shine again, and gave a small nod to Irelia, which now had her blades on her side and a serious look on her face.

"Let's finish this" Dom said as Irelia nodded and proceeded to the front lines of the army.

* * *

Reaching the front line brought a new scene, now thanks to the bombing being made by the fleet the volume of monsters was fewer than before, that and such an eccentric individual with a police suit and exploding gloves seemed to be enjoying herself punching the creatures with her enormous gloves, creating a shockwave with each strike that practically evaporating those that were behind her target. Warriors kept fighting, Irelia couldn't help but look at something that dangled from two of the ships by long cables, but due to the distance, she could only see the outline which resembled a box with a pointy end.

"Dom! What is that?!" she shouted to him as another monster fell to her blades.

"That's the plan! It's a giant drill!" Dom shouted as a smile crept in his face seeing Irelia's confusion. "We have to kill them from the root! It's the only way to stop them, there are too many!"

Then it hit her, the sudden realization of his words, that is why they were going straight to the volcano's opening, a sudden influx of adrenaline and happiness fueled her body. Taking a break as the others continued to fight Dom spoke through his ear piece again "Cait what's the status, I've lost sight of you" he asked to confirm the plan was going according to plan.

"We are on top of them ready to drop the drill!" she shouted as the wind and rain fell, the aircrafts shook and moved violently, Caitlyn knew there was only one chance so they couldn't miss. Ordering the other ship to advance to the opposite direction they began to create tension on the cables, as they stretched the drill began to stabilize and point straight down as the plan had anticipated. Without a moment of hesitation, Caitlyn pressed a button, starting the drill's head which began spinning, she then pressed another one, releasing the heavy machine, and as fast as she could pressed the last button, commanding the drill to turn on its engines and dropping straight down the black hole where the creatures were emerging. "Everyone, full power on the engines, we need to leave!" she shouted as the ships began to turn around becoming again visible to those in land.

Once the ships appeared again Dom knew that the time was near, if Heimerdinger's and Jayce's estimates were correct there would be a massive earthquake, that or the island will explode, but Dom choose to believe in the first option as he shouted with all his might.

"Everyone! Stand strong the earth is going to shake!" at that sentence, many of the generals and soldiers were a bit perplexed but nonetheless obeyed the directive and everyone took a wider stance.

Dom could hear from his communicator the same squeaky voice from a certain yordle, showing his excitement at the idea of what was going to happen. Then there was a sudden tremor that shook everyone on land causing many to tumble to the ground, but many others were able to withstand it. Wide-eyed glances were shot between everyone, earth didn't stopped to shaking, everyone's breath stopped when suddenly the cries of what had to be thousands of monsters shot through the volcano's entrance as, after that, a giant pillar of fire appeared from its mouth forming a massive ball of fire with the shape of a mushroom which illuminated the entirety of the island for a couple of seconds, then as the earth shook again, the volcano erupted, spitting hot lava high in the air and its surroundings. Taking advantage of the sudden silence of most of the army Dom spoke as deep and loud as he could.

"Ionians! This is the last wave, stay strong! Victory is near!"

His words ran through the army, war cries erupted through every soldier's voice, adrenaline began to warm their bodies and a new source of energy surged upon them. Dom had predicted all of the remaining thousands of monsters that had escaped the explosion and lava would come directly towards their position, they just had to hold them off. From that point onward everyone kept slashing, and fighting with all their might, snipers on the ships helped those on the ground, bombs had already run out. At some point, rain had stopped falling and continuous shots from the ship's flares to illuminate the sky stopped being necessary.

Everything continued to play as a repetition until suddenly Dom slashed a monster in front of him, quickly taking a stance for the next one, only to find out that there was no more movement in front of him. He looked to the sides, the remaining monsters were quickly dispatched by the soldiers until they all stared in silence weapons still drawn and breathing heavily.

Dom retracted his sword he began to breathe as deep as he could, exhaustion took his part on his body as his muscles were full of cramps, using energy through his whole body took a lot of effort, something that didn't came without consequences. Soon enough he took a normal stance, in front of him, ships had already landed, and Caitlyn ran in his direction stopping just in front of him, then suddenly, took her rifle from her back and with one swift movement nailed Dom in the stomach with the stock, in front of the gazing eyes of all the Ionian military who just stared silently.

"Why in the world would you jump like that! You didn't know you could do that! That was suicide!" Caitlyn began to shout as Dom did his best to look remorseful so she would let him off the hook.

"Come on cupcake, that was soooo cool! The way you shot through the sky and blew up that monster to pieces! Man, that was something else wasn't it Irelia?" Vi ended her sentence making Dom turn around to look at the blade warrior, who without waiting took a step closer and hugged him fiercely.

"It was amazing" she said as she rested her head on his shoulder, causing Dom to smile and her two companions to give him a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"Ahem" they all heard suddenly as a big man stood in front of them, tall and proud, armor full of purple blood.

"Commander!" Irelia suddenly said as she separated from Dom and gave a slight bow of her head, replicated by the rest of them.

"At ease general" he said with a soft tone, as the face inside his helmet showed a small smile. Turning to face Dom, Cait and Vi he proceeded. "We as people of Ionia have always strived towards peace and calm, we removed ourselves from all other nations ever since war was brought upon our land, thinking that we alone could withstand whatever threat fate decided we should face" he took his helmet off his head keeping his gaze on all three of them. "I don't want to imagine what our fate would have been today if not for you" he then threw his helmet on the ground, and kneeled in front of them, an action which was soon emulated by all men and women behind him, helmets began to sound again and again on the ground. "On behalf of the people of Ionia, Thank You for Saving Us!" He finished as he lowered his head and every single soldier did the same.

Shock ran through all of them, Dom suddenly felt Irelia cling to him again, tears of what he considered happiness running across her cheeks, muttering her thanks again and again. Besides him Caitlyn stood tall and mighty, she was certainly enjoying the show of respect, and Vi seemed to be squirming a little.

"Hey cupcake, this is giving me the creeps" she whispered low enough for only her to hear and smile at the remark.

"Just enjoy it will you, hahah" Caitlyn remarked as a full-blown smile crept on her face.

Having paid his respects, the commander rose to his feet as his eyes rested on the team. At that moment Irelia nudged him on the ribs causing him to jump a bit and look at her.

"Say something they are waiting" she eyed the general and everyone else.

Dom was certainly not prepared for this sudden situation as he nervously grabbed the back of his head and said whatever came to his mind.

"No problem!" he said quickly earning a sudden shock to his ribs again. "I.. I.. mean it was nothing, too.. uhhh… help… ehhh anytime?" he finished as now Caitlyn was massaging the top of her nose with a scowl and Vi was holding hers close trying desperately not to laugh out loud, Irelia had a cute pout on her face.

Suddenly a laugh coming from the general rose through the air as many others began to follow his example. Now also laughing, Dom rose his fist in the air and shouted, "We won!" after those words everyone began jumping and hugging each other as laughs and cheers spread through the crowd.

* * *

The rest of the day was full of work, for hours every available pair of hands began to pile up bodies of countless creatures, they were then burned to prevent any further harm to Ionia. Bodies of the fallen soldiers were collected and given the proper funeral by Ionian standards, after that everyone was allowed to rest for a while, the only thing left to do was a meeting between generals and commanders to discuss details of the future with the heroes.

That could wait a bit Dom thought as Irelia and him were now on their way to a hill which she wanted to show him. This was a new experience for him, Irelia was refusing to let his hand go while they ascended the hill. Upon reaching the top Dom marveled at the sight that was before his eyes, there was a clearing that extended for a couple of meters in front of them, there was a slight slope on the terrain, which dropped abruptly forming a cliff. The ground was mostly covered with grass and flowers, on his left, a big and tall tree, for it's large branches were the only thing that stood between millions upon millions of visible stars that shined throughout the sky. Irelia was smiling widely as Dom's eyes and face showed the awe of the scenery, something that she had come to love and visit frequently when she wasn't training.

"So? What do you think? It's beautiful isn't it?" she asked as expectant eyes shined upon his.

"Yes, it is, but nothing compared to you" he answered with a smile as Irelia blushed, her cheeks gaining a tint of red. Dom knew that this was an opportunity that he couldn't let pass, he grabbed both of her hands in his and turned to face her directly. Thanks to the slope on the terrain they were now on the same height, their eyes met for a couple of seconds fully immersing in each other's presence before Dom continued to speak. "After we finished our first battle, my brain turned to mush as the most beautiful image that my eyes have ever seen was coming straight to me" Dom said as he tightened his grip on her.

"If I remember correctly, I punched you in the stomach" Irelia flashed smile.

"Well I mean you left a strong first impression, hahah" Dom took a step closer to her. "Since that day seeing you became something so important to me, nothing but you fills my mind every second we are apart. I want to see you smile, hear your voice, touch your hands, I love you Irelia, I love you with all that I am" just as he finished saying that, they both closed the distance between each other, as their faces drew even closer and their lips touched, filling both of them with happiness sparks flew through their bodies, for just seconds later their lips parted and they both looked at each other's eyes.

They lasted like that for a while not willing to move and break this moment until Irelia raised her hands gripping his neck, "I love you too" she said jumping and kissing him again. Thanks to her sudden launch Dom stumbled backwards, thankfully landing on the tree with his back to it, as Irelia kept her arms across his neck unwilling to separate from him. Forgetting everything and anyone they shared kisses between one another, enjoying every second of their time together.


	12. You, me, and a promise

**_Ionia / Night After the Battle / Council room_**

There wasn't much talk on both sides as representatives of both the nation of Ionia and City of Piltover rested on the floor in cushions facing each other. Caitlyn was politely seated cleaning her rifle and Vi was calmly looking at the ceiling with both her arms stretched behind her back to support her weight. In front of them to the right was Lee Sin the monk and to the other Karma was waiting patiently with a smile from her face.

"You should have brought Jayce with you" Karma said as she sulked a bit to her two new friends.

"Well, we could tell you that he was so insistent to come here that it took us hours to convince him to protect the city, and I don't think he just wanted to battle" Cait added at the end making Karma giggle a bit. "Besides I think one couple for a day is enough"

Lee Sin and Karma both chuckled at that statement knowing well what Caitlyn meant, well what everyone by now must know actually. Then the front door opened silencing the laughs of both Ionians as the impressive frame of their commander walked forth without armor and took a seat between them.

"Hello, and welcome again, is everyone here? Where are Irelia and the boy?" the commander asked, as a meeting to establish Ionia's political position for the help of Piltover was supposed to be set right now.

"I think they needed some time to catch up to one another if you know what I mean" Vi said with a wink, Karma tried her best to stifle her laugh by covering her mouth while Cait and Lee only smiled at the comment.

"Don't worry about them, I'm sure we can put them up to date in no time, besides, we are the one's in charge" Caitlyn commented, the commander nodded.

"I suppose you are right, by the way call me Wilard" he said as both girls nodded. "So, I guess that we shall begin with the meeting, let me first express again my gratitude for what you have done for my people and for asking you to do this on such a short notice. It is true that you used a lot of resources and time to get here from your city to which I am thankful, I promise we'll replenish all that which you have used to reach here, and all the costs will be paid for the deed you made." Wilard took a quick pause as both police girls nodded before continuing. "As you may already know Ionia is a peaceful nation, we had to learn how to defend ourselves because of past experiences with other nations, we fear that once again an invasion could strike our home, we' ve lived for years rejecting every notion of the outside in an attempt to preserve our land safe. We still have eyes on the outside, who routinely inform us of current events of the world. What I mean by all of this is that we will help you with everything we can, but Ionia will remain with its status of peaceful neutrality, we will not aid you or your allied nations in any conflict, for we people of Ionia will not enter another war, I'm sorry but we would not budge on that end" Wilard finished bowing his head expecting a commotion from that two girls for his words but was bet only with a loud pop of Vi's gum.

"Well yeah that's fine, we are not going to ask anything of the sort" Cait commented as she dipped a cookie on her tea and began munching on the treat.

"I also mean that we will not participate in any event now or in the future" Wilard exclaimed again trying to make his point come across the two girls who he thought didn't understand him, eliciting only nods and smiles from them both leaving him quite stunned at the moment.

"Commander, I can't sense a single hint of lies in their words, I believe you can trust what they are saying" Lee said as he and Karma shared smiles to the girls in front of them.

"But, why would you say that? You have an entire nation owning you a favor, there must be a reason why you decided to risk it all coming here." Wilard again refuted unwilling to believe the actions and words taking place in front of him, he had experienced how cruel outsiders could be, so trusting them on their word was not an option.

"Well, we could tell you why we are here, but we'll let Dom do the work, show them Vi" Cait ordered, Vi nodded and took a device she had on a bag behind her.

"Ok listen here, we are sort of a technologically advanced city, bla.. bla.., people make things and Jayce happened to make this." she said as she took out a machine, one which Karma recognized immediately.

"That is the camera thing!" she exclaimed as Vi nodded with a smile.

"Yes with this we are able to capture a moment in time, but not just that, we can even capture minutes of them inside here" she positioned the device with its screen near the three members of Ionia as she pressed a button.

* * *

 _"I'm not in the mood Vi" the scene began to play on the screen just as Dom pushed the door open and got on his knees._

 _"PLEASE, HELP ME"_

 _"What is happening Dom" answered Cait._

 _"I have to go, I need to help her!" Dom was still on the floor._

 _"Help who Dom, please just calm down and stand up" the screen showed Cait as Dom was in the background now on his feet._

 _"I… I just talked to Irelia, she's preparing to face those monsters. I need to be there Cait I can't stand it anymore!"_

 _"Dom the city has just survived an attack itself, we have to think about what to do"_

 _"I made a mistake Cait, the worst of my life, please just give me one ship and I'll never ask anything more"_

 _"You've never even asked for anything before this! Why is it that you want war when you just survived one!"_ Cait could be seen visibly shaken by the sudden petition.

 _"Because… I love her! I love her with all that I am. I can't stop thinking about her, I want to be with her forever, I want her to be safe I want her in my future Cait! I can't bear the idea of never seeing her again. My heart aches and crushes my chest with the thought of her death. Please Cait! Please! Let me go there! Help me get there!"_

* * *

That was the last bit of information before Caitlyn slowly approached and hugged him before the screen went dark and Vi picked it up.

"Maaaaan such a powerful blackmail material, I'm sure I could get Dom to do anything I wanted with this" Vi said snickering as Caitlyn just rolled her eyes.

"Ha…. ha ha ha" a strange sound came forth enveloping the ears of all those in the room, much to the surprise of Lee and Karma, who was the first time they could remember her commander share such a laugh. Powerful yet calm escaped the general's mouth making no attempt to subdue or hide his emotions. "That man! Ha Ha Ha… so he convinced everyone to fight in war because he loves and Ionian!" he continued to smile and laugh.

"We did all the convincing! He only convinced us, you could say we have sort of like a soft spot for him" Vi said as she smiled to Cait which in turn returned the gesture.

Letting himself on his fit of laughter a bit more before finally receding the general took a deep breath before continuing. "Haaah… well once I have seen this there is no more doubt in my mind, let it be known however that you may count on us for everything else that you might want this nation to help. We will gladly accept your people into the island as well any trade that you would like to establish" Wilard said as he extended his hand towards Cait, one which she took gleefully.

"I think we have a deal there, likewise our home is your home from now on." she finished as smiles spread across the faces of everyone there, as they heard Lee speak.

"I think I sense two special individuals debating over entering or not here" he said, Cait and Vi looked at each other with a knowing look.

"Ok guys listen here's the plan" Vi said with a mischievous smile.

* * *

 ** _Irelia POV_**

"I can't believe you didn't tell me that! I've never missed a meeting and certainly this was an important one!" she was fuming but never took her hand out of his walking towards the council room.

"Well, I wanted some time with you! Besides I think out time was well spended, better doing that, than sitting on a boring meeting." he said it so naturally as her cheeks burned from his comment. "Do you prefer to be on a meeting than with me?" he asked looking at her once again and with a mocking tone.

"Don't ask me that, we have a responsibility" she said but had to continue once she saw a hint of worry in his eyes. "Of course I will choose you okay, always, but you didn't tell me about the meeting! We could have arrived an hour ago"

"Well it's just that you looked so cute and beautiful that I didn't want that moment to end" he said once again making her chest burn with a pleasant sensation.

"Stop it alright, I won't be able to face everyone like this" she was sure her face was so red from all his compliments and flirting that strawberries will surely be envious if they could feel. Gathering all her strength and willpower she untangled her hand out of his and began taking deep breaths just meters away from the council room.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a smile, she was sure he was enjoying himself with her display.

"We are going to enter on a discussion about our nations and my leader will be there, I have to compose myself and act with respect, and I want you to do the same" she wasn't sure how Dom was taking this but he only smiled and began to take deep breaths. It seemed he didn't care too much of the current situation but nonetheless she was happy he seemed to comply with her demands. "Ok, lets go"

As they entered a tense atmosphere could be felt, she even looked at Dom who's face previously relaxed was now tense from the seriousness of the people inside.

"You sure took your time, come on sit we have to talk" Cait ordered them with seriousness, which set her and Dom on maximum alert. "Listen here Irelia, we have been discussing for a while now and we would like to know something, so I'll be making you some questions understand?" she finished as Irelia simply nodded.

"Cait what's going on can you…" Dom stated to speak trying to help her until he was cut short by Wilard.

"Silence please, this is a serious issue" he said with authority making him glance worryingly towards Irelia but complying his demand.

"Ok where was I, Irelia we have a standard procedure for this type of case, so I'll be asking some questions, and we need you to answer them without thinking. That means you have to speak with whatever answer comes naturally as fast as I finish my sentence. That means, no thinking, just speaking do you understand?" as Caitlyn finished Irelia could see Dom's eyes go wide as if he had discovered something but just as he seemed about to speak Vi closed his mouth and whispered something in his ear which made him stand in silence although by the looks of it much more relaxed. "Irelia! were you listening?!" Cait almost shouted getting her attention again.

"Yes, I understand!" she exclaimed with confidence even though nervousness invaded her mind.

"Very well, then understand that a treaty between our nations depends on your ability to answer my questions as fast as you can, can you handle this task general?" Cait asked again as she directed a sharp gaze at her.

"Yes!" Irelia shouted once again.

"Then let's start, tell me your name"

"Xan Irelia"

"How many blades do you control?

"Eight"

Her answers came as fast as she could manage to process the question.

"What was the reason you left Ionia towards the institute"

"I was ordered to go in order to quench my thirst of a good match and to train against powerful opponents"

"Was your mission accomplished?"

"Yes"

"What's the best memory you have in your time at the institute?"

"The festival night"

"What color was your dress?"

"Silver with pink flowers"

By this moment questions began to come as fast as she ended answering them.

"When did you arrive to Ionia?"

"Three days ago"

"What's the best gift you have received?"

"My bracelet"

"What does it do?"

"Emits light when you rub it"

"Who gave you that bracelet?"

"Dom"

"For how much time did you two make out?"

"Two hours"

"…"

It took her a second to figure out what happened, all her blades launched upwards and got stuck in the wood ceiling, her eyes were wide open, her ears seemed to have caught fire. Cait was now wearing a big smirk on her face instead of a scowl, she could hear Karma, Lee and even Wilard laughing, in front of her Dom seemed to be getting as red as she had seen him, then suddenly, an unknown force pushed her from the side towards the floor and enveloped her in quite a ferocious hug.

"AAAAAAAAA Welcome to the family! We have soooo much to talk about, I could never believe that Dom would get someone as amazing as you, he is soooo lucky! Isn't that right Dom?"

"Yes it is" he said while scratching his cheek looking still quite embarrassed for the whole ordeal. "I can't believe you all agreed to this scam!" he added as Wilard and Lee began laughing and Karma latched herself into the other side of Irelia which, was now being squeezed by both of her and Vi.

"That was quite bold of you sweetheart!" she teased as Irelia tried to break free from both of those maniacs.

"Karma!" she shouted as the teasing was relentless from all of those who were present in the room.

"I'm sorry princes but you will have to put up with it now that we know the all the truth" Karma said as she directed her gaze to Dom, making him curious about what could she mean by that, so he decided to ask.

"What would you mean all the truth?" Dom asked with a face that Irelia could only describe as precautious.

"Vi took a video of our conversation when you entered my office on piltover, we just showed them what happened" Cait explained now calmly sitting by his side sipping her tea again.

Irelia was curious now, seeing how Dom's jaw opened as words failed to come out of his mouth and he got so red that even with the dim lighting his ears and cheeks were full of color.

"You did what?!" he exclaimed as with a quick look at everyone gave him a knowing smirk proving that what Caitlyn just said was true.

"What video?" Irelia asked as Vi and Karma squeezed her even more.

"Ooohhh you are going to squirm in delight! It's so romantic! Just what you would read on a novel!" Karma was practically cheek on cheek with her now.

Irelia wasn't sure what to expect but she could see that Dom seemed more embarrassed than she had ever seen him. What could it be that can set him over the edge she wondered now a clear curiosity nagging her.

"Did you have to do that? Come on, this is so embarrassing did you really have that moment on that thing?"

"Well you could call it fate that it got recorded for the rest of your life" Vi teased some more.

"How dare you! Now give me that thing, I'm going to erase that immediately!" Dom demanded as Vi pouted.

"Don't be like that Dom, we could sell the rights for a movie and get really rich one day!"

"Let's just forget it for now ok? There's so much embarrassment someone can take for a day" Dom said once more effectively silencing the crowd.

From that point forward the conversation continued between all the warriors fluidly, dinner was brought to them, the rest of the night was quite enjoyable for all, well except for the constant teases and questions that everyone directed at them, which Irelia tried to dismiss as much as Dom. The night went on, agreements were made, Piltover soldiers and ships will depart the next day at noon, well they clearly specified those who wanted to leave, a sentence that calmed Irelia's heart quite a bit. First one to leave was Lee, then Wilard and finally Karma. After them, Cait and Vi were preparing to leave, they all agreed that Dom could stay in Irelia's free room on her house, something that could not be said without ever winking at them.

"Well that's it for us, don't sleep too late alright Dom, I will like to have a chance to talk to you before we go" Cait said as both her and Vi were aiming for the door.

"Vi!" Irelia said quickly gathering the attention of everyone still present as the pink-haired woman answered.

"Yes?"

"I… would like to watch the video please" she said with a hint of embarrassment and shyness as Vi only nodded opened the device and prepared the scene to play.

"Just press this button here and you'll be set, see you tomorrow" and just like that they exited the room leaving only her and Dom with the device between them, but before she could continue on Dom stood up.

"I know you are curious but I think it would be best if you watch it on your house" embarrassment was clearly present on his face, but also his eyes never left hers, which gave her a strong sense of confidence that he was right. So, in the end, they both stood up and made their way to her house.


	13. Fullfilled at last

**_*Warning* this chapter contains a lemon, if you are under 18 or don't like them, close this window. Otherwise, well, it will be my first attempt at writing one, so here it goes._**

* * *

There was finally some peace and tranquility in the air after the past couple of days. Dom was lying now on the guest room in Irelia's house. She had given him some comfortable clothes that once belonged to his father so he could sleep, a gesture he thanked since he forgot to pack something other than his weapon and combat attire.

Most of the time he appreciated peace and time to think, to rest and relax his mind, but right now nervousness and something akin to anticipation filled his body, so he had been trying to find anything to distract himself for the past 40 minutes, but there was nothing other than the bed below him, finally the door opened revealing Irelia in her own pajamas as she held the device on one hand.

There was not much said between both, for some seconds they just looked at each other until Irelia walked inside, closed the door and directed herself towards Dom. Without hesitation but with a red face she choose to sit on his lap, resting her back against his chest and her head between his shoulder and neck.

"Your heart is about to explode"

"Yeah, well, not every day I get the chance to be with the most beautiful woman in all of Runeterra" Dom said as he covered her stomach with both his arms bringing her even close to him. Action that proved to be well received, he supposed, her ears filled with blood but her body relaxed into his embrace.

They laid there, one against another, savoring this moment, and taking in the presence of each other fully. No words had to be said, they both kept shifting in place to take more and more contact between them ending finally with Irelia practically glued to him.

"Why don't you want anyone to see this?" Irelia asked as she stretched herself to grab the device and held it in front of her.

"It's not that I don't want them to see it, it's just, kind of personal" Dom said as he squeezed her a little tighter.

"Can I watch it?" her desire to see it was burning her heart, but she had to ask.

"I think you are the only one that should be allowed to" he said giving her a smile.

Irelia didn't hesitate to press the button and was soon greeted with a scene of the man on her back and one of her new friends. Tears began to roll from her eyes, strong arms tightened ever so slowly around her waist. Drops were flowing freely and striking the screen now that the video was finished, laughs and sobs escaped her simultaneously while soft lips pushed against her neck giving her a warm kiss.

"I love you"

That was all she needed to hear, emotions pushed her away of thinking and immediately turned around catching his lips and pushing him down into his back. Minutes passed as they enjoyed the taste of each other, light kisses became rough, their tongues danced without stopping until they both were breathless, looking at each other's eyes, Dom now on top of her, their noses almost touching.

He took his thumb to her face to slowly caress her cheek, wiping away dried tears. "I'm going to take you now" he whispered. Irelia looked at him for a moment, not hesitating, not fearing, but with an understanding of what that sentence meant, she slowly took his face between her hands and leaned in for a kiss.

Passion and heat began to rise from their bodies, their kisses were now stronger, hungrier, the need to feel each other increased. Irelia could feel his hands roaming her stomach past the cloth, his hands eager to explore and sense every part of her; her lower back, navel, and sides were completely under his domain, Dom began to make his way down kissing her neck beginning to lift her shirt, for a second later completely removing it from her body.

Dom stared silently, for one he was surprised she wasn't wearing a bra, but what made his heart go into overdrive, was that she wasn't covering herself, her face was full of embarrassment, he could tell, but she gave him free access to all of her, to really see that she was willing to give herself to him without hiding. Not wasting another second, he quickly took his own shirt off and laid down on top of her, his hands started roaming her stomach again aiming higher and higher with every passing second.

Her first gasp came quickly when his hands reached her breasts, although inexperienced Dom let his intuition guide him, discovering, moving and massaging them as he paid close attention to her reactions. There was something so mysterious about this new feeling, nothing fueled more his desire than to make her feel good, so when her first moan escaped when his fingers roamed her nipples a wide smile appeared on his face. Eagerness and anticipation filled his mind, he slowly but surely began to descend from her neck towards her soft mounds as he kissed her body every couple of centimeters until he reached his destination.

New sensations arose on her mind as Dom traveled through her body, his hands against her, light and passionate kisses rained furiously on her skin. Jolts of electricity flowed from her spine up to her brain making her feel more and more pleasure. Moans escaped her mouth, she felt him lower his head and grab one of her nipples with his mouth. Indescribable sensations, that she had never experience before made her mind go blank as ecstasy and pleasure began to build more and more.

She could only hold onto his arms and hair as he worked on her chest. His mouth, hands, and the heat emanating from his body enveloped her sensations as if there was nothing more in this world but him, and thus she choose to relinquish to the pleasure until Dom stood up from his position and gave her a long and tender kiss.

"Can I take them off?"

He asked tenderly while looking directly at her, he looked like he already knew the answer as he had already begun to trail her thighs with his fingers, just waiting for that one word, goosebumps and tingles ran all across her body. There was quite a shock from him, something that she found so charming, when she answered his question.

"You take them first, it's your turn"

He stood there for a moment as Irelia smiled at him, quite a mischievous one at that. He had to quickly process what had just happened, the embarrassment of exposing himself came crashing towards his chest. This may have been what she had to put off when he started to undress her, but he knew she had agreed to it and he will not disappoint her. He laid down one more time to give her a quick kiss and a smile as he then proceeded to uncover his now fully erect manhood.

It was incredibly difficult to maintain his gaze on her, but it was a shyness he had to overcome, it certainly helped to see her eyes open that big and her face getting extremely red, he is a man, not one to brag but always been proud of his "gifts", such this was one of them. She seemed stunned, lost in thought, Dom wanted to give her some space but his lust was now gaining control of his actions, he lowered himself and began to plant kisses on her stomach while his hands roamed the edges of the last piece of clothing that protected her, for a second later he raised it up sliding her panties upwards and out of her legs.

There was now no protection between their naked bodies, no more layers to cover them as both were now breathing heavily, admiring and taking each other fully. Dom sensed some tension starting to build in Irelia, her body was now tensed keeping her legs closed, a charming sight to his lustful nature, he wanted nothing more right now but to become one with her, but she will always come first, and he will make sure things would go smoothly, even if he had to suffer for a while more. Once he was able to move again, Dom laid himself on her side, never taking his eyes off her, while he began to massage her stomach, right below her navel.

"I would never do anything you are not comfortable with, you know that"

A warm and pleasant feeling took her chest once those words came out of his mouth, she couldn't believe such vast amounts of love could flow in her heart. She didn't hold herself back as she leaned in for another kiss, and another, feelings flowed through her at every breath she took against him, she tried to convey more and more of her profound and immense love with every attempt. As such, she didn't stop him when his hand began running closer and closer to her core, for when he reached his destination a loud gasp escaped her mouth breaking their string of kisses both of them looking at each other, before he began to move his hand carefully but freely along her folds.

Moans didn't take long to come, his hand pace got faster, any attempt to kiss him now was futile, she could only try to gasp for air holding his arms as she surrendered to the pleasure she had never experienced. It all stopped quickly, her jagged breaths hit his face and a tender kiss was placed on her cheek, she could sense the time had come.

"I can't wait much longer" he said as his hand caressed his cheek.

She only nodded as one more time their lips crashed together while Dom slowly moved and positioned himself on top of her. Her heart was beating fast, his frame completely covered hers, his body heat covering her every part, their bodies pressed lightly against each other, she didn't had to ask what she felt when an instant later something hot pressing against her entrance, where it stopped. She could feel his breath in her neck, the muscles in his arms tightened, making him stop, his eyes scanning her face for whatever sign of discomfort, but there was none, she grabbed his cheeks and gave him one last kiss, a nod and a smile.

There was no more waiting, he took hold of her and pushed himself inside with one strong and confident trust. Nails were now digging to his skin, a painful gasp escaped her while she visibly tried to contain her voice. His member had now lodged deep inside her, a warm and wet membrane squishing and massaging every inch of him. He wanted to move, oh lords he desired that, but when a tear began to drop out of her face, his consciousness returned to him just in time to stop and hold her close.

She had to close her eyes to endure the pain, but could feel the strange object, pulsating inside. Such a surreal feeling, her flesh was spread open and heat began to concentrate below her stomach. Tears fell down her cheeks yet nothing but happiness filled her heart, more so now that they were together sharing this experience, and he cared enough about her to contain himself and wait for the pain to stop. She could see him tensing and panting but waited patiently at her, not demanding but understanding the process. She took a couple of more seconds, just enough for the pain to lower its intensity and adjusting herself to the foreign object inside of her before speaking.

"You can move now" she said with a sweet and low tone of voice.

He heard her clearly, and not wasting any time grabbed her shoulders and thrusted slowly one more time, and again, for when he started he couldn't stop. He seemed possessed, lost in pleasure, intoxicated in her sweat, fragrance and voice, for each time he slid in and out of her, moans would ring in his ears. With time, pain subsided, sweet moans did nothing but increase his lust towards her, to feel, to caress, to be as close as possible there was nothing more important than gaining more space from which to touch, to feel.

Minutes passed, she was now thoroughly enjoying every thrust he made, every time he scraped her insides, it was a pleasure she never imagined could be felt, pain had now disappeared leaving only the need for more. So, when he started to lower his pace, she realized something, sweat was dripping from his chin and he was panting, but only gave her a smile as he held himself above her, careful not to put his whole weigh into her. happiness swelled once again up her chest, then as if practiced she pushed him to the side rolling over him, he now laid on his back and she was seated on top of him smiling charmingly.

They were a team, so he shouldn't have to make all the effort she thought, then took hold of his throbbing member and inserted herself on top of him decisively making him grunt as she exhaled loudly from the pleasure. She began to rock slowly at first but soon began to increase the pace of her movement. She wanted more, she needed more, moans began to fill the room, they both began to lose control of themselves immersed solely on each other's movements.

She began to ask for more, Dom took it upon himself to grant her wish and started thrusting, harder, and faster, they both synced in perfect rhythm, their bodies colliding with force one against another.

"Something… is… ahhh… more!" Irelia exclaimed as Dom took charge of the situation grabbing her hips and beginning to thrust upwards with all the speed he could muster. Moans soon became screams as Irelia leaned on his chest for support. He himself could feel his own climax approaching, feeling that he decided to bear for as long as he could while he continued to lift himself towards her hips.

Then, there it was, with one final effort he felt Irelia tense all around his member, pure ecstasy that drove him to the edge, so with one final effort he lifted himself upward, sitting up and hugging her trembling body as his own climax came crashing down, pouring everything he had into the girl he loved.

Their minds blanked out, pleasure took hold of their senses, both hugging each other savoring every moment, her body still shaking and squeezing every last drop from him. Seconds passed, they regained their breaths and become fully conscious of their surroundings. Forehead against forehead for their eyes never left each others, every now and then, they would lean on for a quick kiss but return to the same position.

"I love you"

"I love you too"

Was everything they had to say as both succumbed to fatigue, and crashed down on the mattress while they continued to hold each other. a perfect night and a perfect start for what was to come.


End file.
